Hawaii House Bill HB480

Hawaii 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/21/25
• Refer: 1/21/25
• Report Pass: 1/30/25
• Refer: 1/30/25
• Report Pass: 2/12/25
• Refer: 2/12/25
• Report Pass: 2/28/25
• Engrossed: 2/28/25
• Refer: 3/4/25
• Report Pass: 3/18/25
• Refer: 3/18/25
• Report Pass: 4/4/25

Caption

RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION.

Summary

HB480 amends Hawaii’s workers’ compensation law to speed up access to functional capacity examinations (FCEs) for injured workers. The bill allows an attending physician to request an FCE once the worker has reached medical stabilization and is permanently unable to return to usual and customary employment, without first getting employer permission. It also requires the physician to notify the employer in writing at least seven calendar days before the referral, and requires the FCE report to be sent to both the physician and employer within 14 calendar days after the exam. The bill further expands who may be qualified to perform these examinations by adding licensed occupational therapists and physical therapists to the list of health care providers the director may qualify under chapter 386, but only for the limited purpose of performing FCEs. The employer must pay the fees for FCEs requested under this new process. The measure is set to take effect on July 1, 2050, and its stated purpose is to reduce delays in return-to-work decisions and vocational rehabilitation.

Impact

HB480 would add a new workers’ compensation procedure in chapter 386, Hawaii Revised Statutes, governing when and how functional capacity examinations may be requested and paid for. It removes the need for employer pre-approval in qualifying cases, sets notice and reporting deadlines, and shifts the cost of the examination to the employer. It also amends the list of qualified providers in section 386-27 to include occupational therapists and physical therapists for FCE purposes only, thereby broadening the pool of professionals who can conduct these evaluations under the workers’ compensation system.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests broad support for the bill in the Senate committees, with unanimous or near-unanimous passage at each recorded stage and no recorded opposition votes. The bill’s framing is also strongly pro-worker and efficiency-oriented, emphasizing reduced delays, faster return-to-work decisions, and improved vocational rehabilitation outcomes. No committee transcript excerpts were provided, so the sentiment can only be inferred from the bill text and vote margins, both of which indicate generally favorable treatment.

Contention

The main policy tension appears to be between speeding up injured workers’ access to evaluations and preserving employer/insurer control over the workers’ compensation process. The bill removes the employer’s ability to block or delay an attending physician’s referral for an FCE, which could be viewed as reducing administrative oversight but also as preventing unnecessary delay. Another possible point of discussion is the expansion of qualified providers to occupational and physical therapists, limited to FCEs, which may raise questions about scope, training, and consistency of evaluations. No explicit opposition is reflected in the provided vote record.