Senate Bill No. 139
(By Senator Chafin)
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[Introduced January 13, 2010; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §61-2-31, relating to
railroad employees; and establishing criminal penalties for
interfering with medical treatment of a railroad employee
injured during the course of employment.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §61-2-31, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2. CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON.
§61-2-31. Interference with treatment of injured railroad
employee.
(a) It is unlawful for a railroad company or person employed
by a railroad company to:
(1) Deny, delay or interfere with medical treatment or first-aid treatment to an employee of a railroad company who has
been injured during employment; or
(2) Discipline or threaten discipline to an employee of a
railroad company who has been injured during employment for
requesting medical treatment or first-aid treatment for the injury.
(b) A railroad company who violates the provisions of this
section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be fined not more than $10,000 for each violation. A person
who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more
than $10,000 or confined in jail for no more than one year, or both
fined and confined.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create criminal penalties
for a railroad company or employee who denies, delays or interferes
with medical treatment or first-aid to a railroad employee injured
on the job, or who threatens discipline to an injured employee who
requests medical treatment or first-aid for a job injury.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.