§1172.2. Unlawful practices
A.It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly make any false, fraudulent, or
misleading oral or written statement, or to knowingly omit or conceal material information
for the purpose of obtaining workers' compensation coverage, or for the purpose of avoiding,
delaying, or diminishing the amount of payment of any workers' compensation premiums.
B.It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly misrepresent or conceal payroll,
classification of workers, or information regarding any employer's loss history which would
be material to the computation and application of an experience rating modification factor
for the purpose of avoiding or diminishing the amount of payment of any workers'
compensation premiums.
C.It shall be unlawful for any person, whether
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§1172.2. Unlawful practices
A. It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly make any false, fraudulent, or
misleading oral or written statement, or to knowingly omit or conceal material information
for the purpose of obtaining workers' compensation coverage, or for the purpose of avoiding,
delaying, or diminishing the amount of payment of any workers' compensation premiums.
B. It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly misrepresent or conceal payroll,
classification of workers, or information regarding any employer's loss history which would
be material to the computation and application of an experience rating modification factor
for the purpose of avoiding or diminishing the amount of payment of any workers'
compensation premiums.
C. It shall be unlawful for any person, whether present or absent, directly or
indirectly, to aid and abet any other person, or directly or indirectly counsel any other person,
to engage in conduct in violation of this Section.
D. Whoever violates any provision of this Section shall be imprisoned, with or
without hard labor, for not less than one year nor more than ten years, or fined up to two
hundred fifty dollars per day that such person's violation of any provision of this Section
resulted in failure to properly provide security for compensation, or both. All fines collected
shall be deposited in the Office of Workers' Compensation Administrative Fund established
in R.S. 23:1291.1(E).
E.(1)(a) Any person, insurer, or self-insurance fund who has knowledge of or who
believes that a false, fraudulent, or misleading statement is knowingly made or is knowingly
omitted for the purpose of avoiding, delaying, or diminishing the amount of payment of any
workers' compensation premium shall, within sixty days of notice of such statement or
omission, send to the office of workers' compensation administration, on a form prescribed
by the assistant secretary, the information requested and such additional information as may
be requested by the office of workers' compensation administration.
(b) The office of workers' compensation administration shall review such reports and
select such acts of misrepresentation as, in its judgment, may require further investigation.
(c) The office of workers' compensation administration shall then cause an
independent examination of the facts surrounding such acts to be made to determine the
extent, if any, to which fraud, deceit, or intentional misrepresentation of any kind exists.
(d) The office of workers' compensation administration shall report any alleged
violations of law which its investigations disclose to the appropriate licensing agency and
prosecuting authorities having jurisdiction with respect to such violation.
(2) No person or entity acting without malice, fraudulent intent, reckless disregard
for the truth, or bad faith, shall be subject to civil liability for libel, slander, or any other
relevant tort, and no civil cause of action of any nature shall exist against such person or
entity by virtue of the filing of reports or furnishing of other information, either orally or in
writing, relative to a violation by any employer of the provisions of this Section.
(3) The grant of immunity provided by this Subsection shall not abrogate or modify
in any way any statutory or other privilege or immunity otherwise enjoyed by such person
or entity.
(4) Any person or entity entitled by this Subsection to immunity from civil liability
shall also be entitled to an award of attorney fees and costs if they are the prevailing party in
a civil suit and the party bringing the action was not substantially justified in doing so. For
purposes of this Section, a proceeding is "substantially justified" if it had a reasonable basis
in law or fact at the time it was initiated.
NOTE: See Acts 2018, No. 612 and Acts 2019, No. 404 providing for the effects of
the conversion of certain dedicated funds to special statutorily dedicated fund accounts.