Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 2344 – Agreements on compensation or benefits; filing and approval; …
(a) If the employer and the injured employee, or the employee’s dependents in case of the employee’s death, reach an agreement in regard to compensation or other benefits in accordance with this chapter, a memorandum of such agreement signed by the parties in interest shall be filed with the Department and, if approved by it, shall be final and binding unless modified as provided in § 2347 of this title. Such agreement shall be approved by the Department only when the terms thereof conform to this chapter. This section shall not apply to deductible clauses.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 2344
- Board: means the Industrial Accident Board. See Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 2301
- Department: means the Department of Labor. See Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 2301
- Employee: means every person in service of any corporation (private, public, municipal or quasi-public), association, firm or person, excepting those employees excluded by this subchapter, under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, or performing services for a valuable consideration, excluding spouse and minor children of a farm employer unless the spouse or minor child is a bona fide employee of a farm employer and is named in an endorsement to the farm employer's contract of insurance, and excluding any person whose employment is casual and not in the regular course of the trade, business, profession or occupation of his or her employer, and not including persons to whom articles or materials are furnished or repaired, or adopted for sale in the worker's own home, or on the premises not under the control or management of the employer. See Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 2301
- Employer: includes all those who employ others unless they are excluded from the application of this chapter by any provision of this subchapter, and if the employer is insured, the term shall include the insurer as far as practicable; employer shall also include the governing body for which employable relief recipients are assigned work under §§ 901-905 of Title 31. See Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 2301
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Insurance carrier: means any insurance corporation, mutual association or company or interinsurance exchange which insures employers against liability under this chapter or against liability at common law for accidental injuries to employees. See Delaware Code Title 19 Sec. 2301
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(b) (1) At the time of agreement, the employer shall obtain from the employee an agreement as to compensation, signed by the parties in interest, in such detail and form as the Department prescribes, stating the eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits pursuant to §§ 2324 and 2325 of this title. The agreement as to compensation shall require the employee to indicate any change in employment status which may affect benefits pursuant to §§ 2324 and 2325 of this title. The agreement as to compensation shall include a clear recitation of the legal requirements for eligibility for benefits and shall require the claimant’s acknowledgment of and agreement to abide by such requirements. This form, which shall bear a notarized signature of the employee or the signature of a witness, shall accompany the agreement and shall be filed with the Department of Labor for approval.
(2) For all payments of total or partial disability to claimants under this chapter, the insurance carrier or self-insured shall cause to be printed upon the reverse side of the check, above the endorsement, the following language:
“Your acceptance of this check for total or partial disability is a representation by you that you are legally entitled to such payment and a false representation is punishable under federal and state laws.”
The negotiation of a check for total or partial disability by an attorney or an agent of the attorney on behalf of a client is a representation that the attorney has printed the language set forth in this subsection for printing on claimant checks on checks distributed by the attorney to the attorney’s clients.
(3) Any person who makes a false statement or misrepresentation with regard to that person’s eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits, or any attorney who makes a false representation pursuant to paragraph (b)(2) of this section is punishable pursuant to Chapter 24 of Title 18 and/or § 913 of Title 11.
(4) If the Department or Board has reason to believe that any person is committing or has committed an act of insurance fraud, the Department or Board shall notify the Fraud Prevention Bureau of the Delaware Insurance Department, which shall review the facts and circumstances of the alleged fraud in order to determine whether administrative, civil, or other proceedings are appropriate, in accordance with Chapter 24 of Title 18.
(5) The provisions of this section shall also apply to workers’ compensation payments made pursuant to §§ 2327 and 2347 of this title.
Code 1915, § ?3193n; 29 Del. Laws, c. 233; Code 1935, § ?6084; 19 Del. C. 1953, § ?2344; 63 Del. Laws, c. 250, § ?3; 70 Del. Laws, c. 172, § ?4; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § ?1; 71 Del. Laws, c. 84, §§ ?3, 13; 76 Del. Laws, c. 1, § ?16;