Workers' Comp Laws in Idaho

Getting hurt on the job in Idaho is stressful, and there are real deadlines in the first days and weeks after an injury. This guide walks through what to do first, what Idaho law requires, and where to turn if something goes wrong. It explains Idaho's rules in plain English; it is general legal information, not legal advice.

Deadlines first — two clocks are running

For an injury caused by an accident, Idaho law sets two separate deadlines, and missing either one can end your claim:

• Notice to your employer: no later than 60 days after the accident. Idaho Code § 72-701 requires notice of the accident to be given to the employer "as soon as practicable but not later than sixty (60) days after the happening thereof." The Industrial Commission's own guidance for injured workers is blunt about it: "You could lose all benefits if you wait longer than 60 days."
• Claim for compensation: within 1 year of the date of the accident. Under the same statute, a claim for compensation must be made "within one (1) year after the date of the accident or, in the case of death, then within one (1) year after such death." (Idaho Code § 72-701 says a separate claim is not required if compensation has already been paid voluntarily or an application for hearing has been filed with the Commission — but do not count on that; make the claim.)

Report immediately anyway. But if you are already past 60 days, read the next two sections before you assume your claim is dead — Idaho law has written exceptions, and an occupational disease runs on a different clock entirely.

Late notice is not automatically fatal — Idaho Code § 72-704

The 60-day notice rule is not as absolute as it sounds. Idaho Code § 72-704 ("Sufficiency of notice — Knowledge of employer") provides two escape hatches, and they apply to notice under § 72-701 and to occupational-disease notice under § 72-448:

• Actual knowledge or no prejudice. The statute says: "Want of notice or delay in giving notice shall not be a bar to proceedings under this law if it is shown that the employer, his agent or representative had knowledge of the injury or occupational disease or that the employer has not been prejudiced by such delay or want of notice." So if your supervisor saw the accident, or the employer otherwise knew about the injury or disease — or the employer cannot show it was actually harmed by your delay — late notice does not by itself bar your claim.
• Imperfect notice. A notice is not invalid or insufficient merely because it got the time, place, nature, or cause of the injury wrong, unless the employer shows it was in fact prejudiced by the inaccuracy.

None of this makes late notice safe — you still have to prove knowledge or lack of prejudice, and that is a fight you would rather not have. But a worker past the 60-day mark is not necessarily out of options, and should call the Industrial Commission rather than give up.

Mental incompetence and minor dependents. Idaho Code § 72-705 provides that "no limitation of time provided in this law shall run as against any person who is mentally incompetent or a minor dependent so long as he has no committee, guardian or next friend." The clocks in this article do not run against such a claimant during that period.

Occupational disease: a different clock (§ 72-448)

If your condition is an occupational disease — something that develops over time from the work itself, such as a repetitive-motion condition, noise-induced hearing loss, a lung disease from dust exposure, or a chemical-exposure illness — the deadlines above are not the ones that govern you. Idaho Code § 72-448 sets its own deadlines, and they run from first manifestation of the disease, not from an accident or exposure date:

• Written notice to your employer within 60 days after the disease first manifests — or, if the employer cannot reasonably be located, to the Industrial Commission within 90 days after first manifestation.
• Claim filed with the Industrial Commission within 1 year after first manifestation.
• If the disease causes death: written notice within 90 days after the death (to the employer, or to the Commission if the employer cannot reasonably be located), and a claim filed with the Commission within 1 year after the death.

The statute says that without these, rights to compensation for the disease "shall be forever barred" — but the § 72-704 exceptions above (employer knowledge, or no prejudice from the delay) expressly apply to § 72-448 notice too. If you are unsure whether your condition counts as an accident injury or an occupational disease, or when it "first manifested," call the Industrial Commission and ask before you assume you are too late.

What to do right away

1. Tell your employer immediately — the same day if at all possible, and put it in writing if you can. Say when, where, and how the injury happened. The Industrial Commission tells injured workers to report a job-related injury or disease to the employer immediately.
2. Get medical care. Tell the provider the injury is job-related. Ask your employer before you seek non-emergency treatment whether it has a designated physician for work injuries (more on this below).
3. Make sure a First Report of Injury or Illness is filed. The Industrial Commission says a work-related injury or illness that causes lost work time or requires medical treatment must be reported to the Commission on a First Report of Injury or Illness form. If your employer will not file it, fill it out yourself and send it to the Commission's main office in Boise (or email it to FROI@iic.idaho.gov). If your employer has no workers' compensation insurance, call the Commission's Employer Compliance Department at (208) 334-6000 or toll-free 1-800-950-2110; for questions about your benefits, the Commission's guidance directs injured workers to an Industrial Commission Benefit Analyst at those same numbers.
4. Report even a minor-seeming injury. The 60-day clock runs whether or not the injury looked serious at the time.

Idaho's workers' compensation agency

Workers' compensation claims in Idaho are administered by the Idaho Industrial Commission. Its Benefit Analysts answer questions from injured workers, its Rehabilitation Division staff help with returning to work, and its Adjudication Division handles disputed claims through mediation and hearings. The Commission's Employer Compliance Department can tell you whether your employer carries coverage.

Official website: iic.idaho.gov
Phone: (208) 334-6000, or toll-free 1-800-950-2110
Mail: P.O. Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720-0041

Idaho is not a monopolistic state-fund state. Per the Commission, Idaho employers may buy coverage from private insurance carriers, from the State Insurance Fund (a quasi-governmental entity), or through the assigned risk pool, or may qualify to self-insure.

Who is covered in Idaho

The rule is broad. Per the Industrial Commission, an employer with one or more full-time, part-time, seasonal, or occasional employees must carry a workers' compensation policy unless specifically exempt, and the coverage must be in place before the first employee is hired. There is no minimum headcount that lets a typical employer off the hook.

Idaho Code § 72-212 lists the exempt employments, which include:

• Household domestic service
• Casual employment
• Employment of outworkers
• Certain family employment by a sole proprietor or single-member LLC
• Sole proprietors, partners, and corporate officers who meet the statute's ownership thresholds
• Employment covered by federal workplace-injury laws
• Aircraft pilots applying fertilizers or pesticides (subject to the statute's insurance conditions)
• Associate real estate brokers and real estate salespeople paid solely by commission
• Volunteer ski patrollers and officials of secondary school athletic contests

An employer can still elect to cover an otherwise-exempt worker. If you are unsure whether your employer is covered, call the Industrial Commission.

Who picks your doctor

In Idaho, this depends on whether your employer designated a physician. The Industrial Commission puts it this way: "Your employer may have a designated physician for treating all work-related diseases or injuries except for emergency care. Ask your employer before seeking medical treatment. If your employer has designated a physician, you must have your employer's approval or petition for approval from the Industrial Commission before visiting another physician."

• If your employer has designated a physician, you generally need the employer's approval — or the Commission's — to treat with someone else (emergency care aside).
• If you want to change doctors, you can start by asking your treating physician for a referral, or ask the insurer to approve the change.
• If that fails, Idaho Code § 72-432 lets an employee, on reasonable grounds, petition the Commission for a change of physician. The statute requires written notice to the employer or surety first; the employer then has a set period to respond in writing, and the Commission resolves the dispute on an expedited basis.

Asking your employer about a designated physician before non-emergency treatment is the simplest way to avoid a fight over an unauthorized bill later.

Wage-replacement benefits

The percentage: Idaho Code § 72-408 sets total-disability income benefits during the period of recovery at 67% of your average weekly wage for up to 52 weeks, and thereafter at 67% of the currently applicable average weekly state wage. Partial disability during recovery is paid at 67% of the decrease in your wage-earning capacity, and cannot exceed what total disability would pay.

Waiting period: Idaho Code § 72-402 says an injured employee is not allowed income benefits for the first 5 days of disability for work. But if the disability for work exceeds two weeks, income benefits are allowed from the date of disability — that is, retroactively back to the start. The waiting period does not apply if you are hospitalized as an inpatient.

Maximum and minimum: Idaho sets a weekly maximum and minimum tied to the statewide average weekly wage, and those dollar figures adjust annually. This guide will not quote a number that would go stale — ask the Industrial Commission or check its website for the current-year figures and its benefit calculation tables.

Permanent disability

If your injury leaves a lasting effect but you can still work in some capacity, you may be entitled to permanent partial impairment and/or permanent partial disability benefits. Impairment is rated by a physician, and if the rating is disputed the Industrial Commission decides it. How much you receive, and for how long, depends on the impairment or disability found in your case; the Commission publishes the calculation tables.

If a work injury or disease leaves you totally and permanently disabled and a pre-existing permanent impairment contributed to that total disability, Idaho Code § 72-332 provides that the employer and its surety pay only for the disability caused by the injury, and the remainder of your income benefits comes out of the industrial special indemnity account.

If your claim is denied

1. Start informally. Raise the disputed item with your employer and its insurance company.
2. Call the Industrial Commission at (208) 334-6000 or 1-800-950-2110 and ask for a Benefit Analyst. Its staff answer injured workers' questions at no cost.
3. Ask about mediation. The Commission describes mediation as "a voluntary, informal meeting between the people involved in a disputed workers' compensation claim," and reports that over 90% of mediated disputes are successfully resolved.
4. File a Complaint. To begin the formal hearing process you file a Complaint Form with the Industrial Commission (a copy goes to the employer or insurer). Later, a request for calendaring gets the case set for hearing. The case is heard by a Commission hearing officer — a referee or a Commissioner — and a written decision follows.
5. Deadlines after the decision. Per the Commission, you have 20 days to file a motion for reconsideration or rehearing. You may also appeal to the Idaho Supreme Court within 42 days of the date of the filing stamp on the decision — and the notice of appeal is filed with the Industrial Commission, not with the Supreme Court (Idaho Appellate Rule 14(b); Idaho Code § 72-724 leaves the timing to Supreme Court rule). How the two interact: a timely motion for rehearing or reconsideration that could affect the decision terminates the 42-day appeal period, and under I.A.R. 14(b) "the appeal period commences to run upon the date of the filing stamp on the order or decision denying such motion or the decision on rehearing or reconsideration." In other words, if your reconsideration motion is still pending, you have not lost the appeal — a fresh 42 days runs from the ruling on it. Do not let either clock slip.

Where to get help in Idaho

• Idaho Industrial Commission — (208) 334-6000 or 1-800-950-2110 (V/TDD). Benefit Analysts and other Commission staff can answer questions about your claim, confirm whether your employer has coverage, and explain the complaint and mediation process. There is no charge.
• Industrial Commission Rehabilitation Division — Rehabilitation Consultants employed by the Commission (not by your employer or its insurer) who help injured workers with return-to-work planning and retraining.
• Idaho State Bar Lawyer Referral Service — (208) 334-4500. Note that under Idaho Code § 72-803, an attorney's fee claim in a workers' compensation case is subject to approval by the Industrial Commission.

This article is general legal information about Idaho law, not legal advice for your specific situation. Verify anything that matters to your claim with the Idaho Industrial Commission.