P.R. Laws tit. 11, § 25
The decisions of the Manager, fixing and regulating the premium rates for each group of occupations or industries, and the rate classifications to govern each group or industry in particular, or any order increasing the premium rate for a certain employer, as provided in the preceding section, may be reviewed by the Industrial Commission of Puerto Rico in the following manner:
(1) Any regular or permanent employer aggrieved may file with the Industrial Commission of Puerto Rico, within a period of thirty (30) days after the new rates are promulgated, or any eventual or temporary employer, within the thirty (30) days following the obtainment of his policy, a petition for review by said Industrial Commission of Puerto Rico of the decisions rendered by the Manager in regard to rates or premiums for one or more occupations or industries giving the reasons why said rates or premiums should be amended; and the Manager shall be required to appear and answer said petition within a period of fifteen (15) days. The Commission shall give preference to the case over all other cases on the calendar, and shall proceed to render a final decision in accordance with such rules as said Commission may have promulgated.
(2) The review referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall in no way suspend the collection of the premium or the effects of any other provision of this chapter; nor shall the courts issue writs of injunction enjoining the collection of said premiums or taxes while the case is under review.
(3) In case the decision of the Commission is in the sense of reducing the rate or premium that the Manager has fixed for any class of occupation or industry, neither the Manager of the State Fund nor the Secretary of the Treasury shall in any case be ordered to return the excess paid in premiums or taxes, but such excess shall be deducted from the premiums or taxes to be collected in future from the employers filing the petitions.
(4) In case any classification is modified by an order or decree of the Commission, as herein provided, the Manager shall compute new rates, premiums, or taxes in the manner determined by the Commission for all such employers having workmen or employees within the classification or classifications objected to; Provided, That said rates, premiums, or taxes shall govern to the end of the fiscal year to which said classification or classifications pertained.
In order to carry out the provisions of this section, the Manager of the State Fund shall, prior to June 1 of each year, hold public hearings in different towns of the Commonwealth, giving notice thereof to all insured employers so that they may appear and make any allegations they wish in regard to their right in connection with such groupings of occupations or industries. This notice shall be published in two newspapers having the largest circulation in the Commonwealth.
The Manager of the State Insurance Fund is likewise authorized to collect individually from each employer in the same occupation or industry classification, the percentage of premiums which in his opinion is more reasonable granting a reduction in the basic rate of the classification or levying a surcharge on said basic rate, in accordance with the individual experience of the employer, determined according to the provisions of this chapter, and the regulations which from time to time the Manager may adopt, which when promulgated by the Governor shall have the force of law; Provided, further, That the Manager shall notify each employer in advance of the levying of the premiums, the percentage of the rebate or surcharge corresponding to him for the policy year. It shall be the duty of the Manager to furnish any employer who so requests, all available information as to the factors which compose the individual experience and which served as a basis for the Manager in fixing the surcharge or rebate to be paid or received by the employer requesting the information. In case of non-conformity, the employer may appeal to the Industrial Commission within the thirty (30) days following the date on which he was informed of the levying of the surcharge or rebate.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, § 24; May 9, 1942, No. 160, p. 856, § 1; May 14, 1943, No. 162, p. 524, § 1; May 15, 1945, No. 298, p. 1134, § 1; Apr. 21, 1950, No. 74, p. 180, § 2; Apr. 5, 1952, No. 21, p. 52, § 1; June 30, 1975, No. 116, p. 351; renumbered as § 22 on July 1, 1996, No. 63, § 3.