{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-393.082","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 393.082","heading":"Special expendable  trust fund for unclaimed  sums  under  KRS","body":"393.080(3) -- Administration and distribution of fund -- Claims procedures.\n(1) Unclaimed sums delivered to the Kentucky State Treasurer pursuant to KRS\n393.080(3) shall be placed in a special expendable trust fund established by\nthe Kentucky Workers' Compensation Funding Commission. The Kentucky\nWorkers' Compensation Funding Commission shall establish a separate trust\naccount with respect to each final determination or order providing for a refund\nthat the Attorney General determines to have a reasonable relationship to the\nworkers' compensation liability of a bankrupt employer.\n(2) The  commissioner of the Department of Workers' Claims shall be  the\nadministrator of the resulting trust fund established pursuant to this section.\nThe commissioner or his or her designee shall be authorized to determine the\nvalue of all workers' compensation claims against the bankrupt employer and\nto prepare a comprehensive distribution plan. Eligible claimants may elect to\nparticipate in a comprehensive distribution plan in exchange for the release of\nall related claims against the Commonwealth  and  all of its cabinets,\ndepartments, offices, bureaus, agencies, officers, agents, and employees, with\nthe exception of the special fund in the Education and Labor Cabinet. A\nclaimant shall agree as part of a release under this section not to file any future\nmotions to reopen the named  workers' compensation claim or claims, and not\nto file new claims with respect to the same injury or occupational disease.\n(3) A comprehensive distribution plan for unclaimed utility refunds placed in a trust\naccount pursuant to this section shall consist of the full payment of workers'\ncompensation income benefits for eligible claimants until the fund is exhausted,\nsubject to the exceptions noted in KRS  393.080 and this section, and may\ninclude lump-sum settlements in addition to biweekly payment plans. An initial\ndistribution shall be made  to eligible claimants after the commissioner of the\nDepartment of Workers' Claims, or the commissioner's designee, has made an\ninitial determination of the number of eligible claimants, the amount of income\nbenefits due, and the amount to be retained as a reserve for pending claims.\nThe  initial distribution shall include payment of all past due income benefits,\nwithout interest, for eligible claimants.\n(4) Neither the special fund nor the uninsured employers' fund shall be considered\nto be claimants for the purposes of this section. Medical and related benefits\nshall not be considered in the valuation of the claims unless the amount\navailable in the trust fund clearly exceeds the estimated value of income\nbenefits for all claims. If a workers' compensation surety bond, letter of credit,\nor other form of security for the payment of the workers' compensation liabilities\nof a bankrupt employer has been  collected by the commissioner of the\nDepartment  of Workers' Claims or the Workers' Compensation  Board for\ndistribution to claimants in a manner to be determined by court order, it may be\nassumed  in the valuation of the claims in a comprehensive distribution plan\nthat the security will be distributed by the court on a pro rata basis and an\nappropriate deduction may be taken.\n(5) In  preparing the valuation of claims for inclusion in a  comprehensive\ndistribution plan, the commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall\ndeduct special fund payments. Settlement of a workers' compensation claim as\npart of a comprehensive distribution plan under this section shall not accelerate\nthe date on which the special fund's liability becomes due.\n(6) If the bankrupt employer ceased business operations at least three (3) years\nprior to establishment of a trust account pursuant to this section, only claimants\nwho  file workers' compensation  claims within sixty (60) days  of the\nestablishment of the trust account or before shall be eligible to receive\npayments from the trust fund.\n(7) All claimants shall cooperate with information requests from the Department of\nWorkers' Claims concerning prior payments of workers' compensation benefits.\nThe commissioner of the Department of Workers' Claims or his or her designee\nmay  subpoena witnesses, including present or past managers and officers of\nthe bankrupt employer, and may  conduct evidentiary hearings under oath\nrelating to the past and  present workers' compensation liabilities of the\nbankrupt employer or information relevant to unpaid workers' compensation\nbenefits. Administrative subpoenas  issued under  the authority of the\ncommissioner of the Department of Workers' Claims for this purpose may be\nenforced in the Franklin Circuit Court.\n(8) The  Attorney General shall provide representation of the comprehensive\ndistribution plan as a named  defendant in the event the establishment of the\ntrust fund is challenged.\n(9) The  provisions of KRS  393.080(3) or this section shall not be construed to\nconstitute an admission of the validity of any workers' compensation claims,\nnor shall these provisions be interpreted in a manner that would transfer or\ncreate liability on behalf of the commissioner of the Department of Workers'\nClaims, any agency, or employee, beyond  that expressly set forth in a\ncomprehensive distribution plan.\n(10) The  special fund shall issue trust fund checks in the amounts and to the\nclaimants or claimants' representatives as directed by the commissioner of the\nDepartment of Workers' Claims.\n(11) The  personnel and other costs of administering a trust fund established\npursuant to this section shall be paid out of the investment income of the trust\nfund.\n(12) Attorney fees shall be subject to the limitations and maximum  amounts for the\npayment  of attorney's fees established by KRS  342.320, as well as the\napproval of the commissioner or his or her designee.\n(13) If a  workers' compensation  claimant elects not to participate in a\ncomprehensive  distribution plan proposed  by  the commissioner of the\nDepartment of Workers' Claims or the commissioner's designee, that claimant\nshall not be entitled to any portion of the utility refund for the payment of the\nworkers' compensation benefits. A claimant shall have sixty (60) days following\nissuance of a comprehensive distribution plan in which to make an election to\nparticipate or not.","path":["KRS Chapter 393"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=52482","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:24Z","sha256":"26a1102cb0167cfd55fdc0ad31f12227b8e69992e5cc17de37b8bbd3caccc930","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-393.080","next":"us-ky/krs-393.090"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}