| (a) Representation of Injured Employees or Insurance
Carriers. Pursuant to Labor Code §402.071 and §150.3 of
this title (relating to Representatives: Written Authorization Required),
a person representing an injured employee or insurance carrier in
a contested case hearing shall not receive a fee for providing representation
under this subtitle unless the person is an adjuster representing
an insurance carrier or licensed to practice law.
(b) Fee Defined. For the purposes of this section,
"fee" means any remuneration received directly or indirectly, in cash
or in kind. It includes voluntary contributions. The provision of
representation before SOAH as an extension of, or in addition to,
other services for which a fee was paid shall be considered receipt
of a fee for providing representation as specified in Labor Code §401.011(37)
and §402.071 and §150.3 of this title.
(c) Representation by Employee. The prohibitions in
subsections (a) and (b) of this section do not preclude representation
by a person who receives a salary as an employee of the person represented
to perform services in the usual course and scope of the employer's
business.
(1) For the purposes of this subsection, "employee"
means a person in the service of another under a contract of hire,
whether express or implied, or oral or written.
(2) The term "employee" does not include:
(A) an independent contractor or the employee of an
independent contractor; or
(B) a person whose employment is not in the usual course
and scope of the employer's business.
(d) Ombudsman Program. Nothing in this subsection shall
be construed to limit assistance pursuant to Labor Code §404.105.
(e) Administrative violation. A person commits an administrative
violation if that person receives a fee for providing representation
under circumstances prohibited by this section.
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