A.R.S. tit. 23 ch. 1 — Arizona Revised Statutes Title 23 Chapter 1 — Industrial Commission

23-101. Industrial commission; members; qualifications; appointment; terms; compensation; removal A. There shall be an industrial commission of Arizona. B. The commission shall be composed of five members appointed by the governor pursuant to section 38-211. Each member shall be appointed for a term of five years. Members' terms expire on the third Monday in January of the appropriate year. Not more than three members of the commission shall belong to the same political party. The chairman of the commission shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the governor. The members of the commission shall have been residents of the state for at least five years immediately preceding their original appointment. C. Each commissioner shall receive a salary of fifty dollars per day for each day in which the commissioner prepares for or attends a commission meeting. To receive the salary provided in this subsection, each commissioner shall provide documentation to the director of the commission that explains what commission duties were completed for the day in which the commissioner is seeking a salary. D. The governor may remove a member of the commission for inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance in office. 23-102. Payment of salaries of commissioners The salaries of members of the commission shall be paid by the administrative fund. 23-103. Organization; quorum A majority of the commission shall constitute a quorum to transact business. When a vacancy occurs in the commission, the remaining commissioners may exercise all the powers of the commission until the vacancy is filled. 23-104. Seal; copies of orders or records as evidence A. The commission shall have an official seal for the authentication of its orders and proceedings. Upon the seal shall be engraved the words, "industrial commission of Arizona" and such other design as the commission prescribes. B. Copies of orders of records of the commission certified by the secretary of the commission under its seal shall be admissible in evidence. 23-105. Sites of offices and sessions; business hours; sessions and records; voting A. The commission shall maintain its principal offices at the state capitol, but may maintain offices and hold meetings in any place within the state. B. The commission offices shall be open for the transaction of business from eight o'clock a.m. until five o'clock p.m. each day from Monday through Friday, except on holidays. Sessions of the commission shall be public and all proceedings of the commission shall be shown on its records, which shall be a public record. The vote of each member shall be recorded. 23-106. Capacity to sue and be sued; service of summons on commission A. The commission may, in its name, sue and be sued. B. Service of summons or other process on any member of the commission, or on the secretary thereof, shall be deemed service on the commission. 23-107. General powers A. The commission has full power, jurisdiction and authority to: 1. Formulate and adopt rules and regulations for effecting the purposes of this article. 2. Administer and enforce all laws for the protection of life, health, safety and welfare of employees in every case and under every law when such duty is not specifically delegated to any other board or officer, and, when such duty is specifically delegated, to counsel, advise and assist in the administration and enforcement of such laws and for such purposes may conduct investigations. 3. Promote the voluntary arbitration, mediation and conciliation of disputes between employers and employees. 4. Collect, collate and publish all statistical and other information relating to employees, employers, employments and places of employment with other appropriate statistics. 5. Act as the regulatory agency ensuring that workers' compensation carriers are processing claims in accordance with chapter 6 of this title. 6. Provide nonpublic, confidential or privileged documents, materials or other information to another state, local or federal regulatory agency for the purpose of the legitimate administrative needs of the programs administered by that agency if the recipient agency agrees and warrants that it has the authority to maintain and will maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the documents, materials or other information. 7. Receive nonpublic documents, materials and other information from another state, local or federal regulatory agency to properly administer programs of the commission. The commission shall maintain as confidential or privileged any document, material or other information that is identified by the exchange agency as confidential or privileged under the laws of the jurisdiction that is the source of the document, material or other information. 8. Enter into agreements that govern the exchange of nonpublic documents, materials and other information that are consistent with paragraphs 6 and 7 of this subsection. The commission may request nondisclosure of information that is identified as privileged or confidential. Any disclosure pursuant to paragraph 6 or 7 of this subsection or this paragraph is not a waiver of any applicable privilege or claim of confidentiality in the documents, materials or other information. B. On petition by any person that any employment or place of employment is not safe or is injurious to the welfare of any employee, the commission has power and authority, with or without notice, to make investigations necessary to determine the matter complained of. C. The members of the commission may confer and meet with officers of other states and officers of the United States on matters pertaining to their official duties. D. Notwithstanding any other law, the commission may protect from public inspection the financial information that is received from a private entity that applies to self-insure or that renews its self-insurance plan pursuant to section 23-961, subsection A if the information is kept confidential by the private entity in its ordinary and regular course of business. 23-108. Director; employees; compensation and expenses A. The commission shall employ a director who is appointed by the governor pursuant to section 38-211 and who serves at the pleasure of the governor. Subject to title 41, chapter 4, article 4, the director may employ personnel as deemed necessary by the provisions of this chapter, and chapters 2 and 6 of this title. B. The compensation of the director shall be as determined pursuant to section 38-611. The director shall have such administrative ability, education and training as the commission determines. C. The compensation of the director and commission employees and payment of subsistence and travel expenses allowed by law shall be paid from the administrative fund. 23-108.01. Powers and duties of director A. The director of the commission, under the supervision of the commission, shall administer the policies, powers and duties of the commission as prescribed by this chapter, and chapters 2 and 6 of this title. B. The director of the commission may deny the salary of a commissioner if the commissioner does not provide documentation that explains what commission duties were completed for the day in which the commissioner is seeking a salary or if the commission duties were not related to preparing for or attending a commission meeting. 23-108.02. Administrative law judges A. The commission shall appoint administrative law judges of the commission who shall be members of the Arizona state bar. B. The annual compensation of the chief administrative law judge and of the administrative law judges shall be as determined pursuant to section 38-611. 23-108.03. Performance of certain powers and duties A. The industrial commission of Arizona shall be responsible for determining the policy of the commission. B. Any powers and duties prescribed by law to the commission in this chapter and chapters 2 and 6 of this title, whether ministerial or discretionary, may by resolution be delegated by the commission to the director or any of its department heads or assistants, provided, that the commission shall not delegate its power or duty to: 1. Make rules and regulations. 2. Commute awards to a lump sum. 3. License self-insurers. C. The commission shall be responsible for the official acts of its employees acting in the name of the commission and by its delegated authority. D. Labor department determinations, penalties and fines for labor violations shall be considered, authorized and determined by a vote of the commissioners. The commissioners shall consider whether a violation continues after the employer's course of conduct has ceased. For the purposes of this subsection, "labor department" means the labor department of the industrial commission of Arizona. 23-109. Gifts and grants The industrial commission may accept and expend public and private gifts and grants for the conduct of programs which are consistent with the overall purposes and objectives of the commission. 23-110. Industrial commission of Arizona resource officer A. The director of the industrial commission of Arizona shall employ a resource officer to assist recipients of benefits under the industrial commission of Arizona's purview. B. The resource officer shall not provide legal advice but may provide information about the workers' compensation system and rules governing commission proceedings and may assist in clarifying the methods used to determine a person's workers' compensation benefits. C. The resource officer may also provide information about the labor programs under the industrial commission of Arizona's purview and rules governing the commission proceedings for these matters.