11 NCAC 23A .0108         ELECTRONIC FILINGS WITH THE COMMISSION; HOW TO FILE

(a)  All documents filed with the Commission in workers' compensation cases shall be submitted electronically in accordance with this Rule. Any document transmitted to the Commission in a manner not in accordance with this Rule shall not be accepted for filing. Any document filed with the Commission that requires contemporaneous payment of a processing fee pursuant to Rule 11 NCAC 23E .0203 shall not be deemed filed until the fee has been paid in full. The electronic filing requirements of this Rule shall not apply to employees or non-insured employers without legal representation. Employees and non-insured employers without legal representation may file all documents with the Commission via the Commission's Electronic Document Filing Portal ("EDFP") or by sending the documents to the Clerk of the Industrial Commission via electronic mail (dockets@ic.nc.gov), facsimile, U.S. Mail, private courier service, or hand delivery.

(b)  Except as set forth in Paragraphs (d) and (e) of this Rule, all documents required to be submitted electronically to the Commission shall be filed via EDFP. Information regarding how to use EDFP is available at http://www.ic.nc.gov/training.html. In the event EDFP is inoperable, all documents required to be filed via EDFP shall be transmitted to the Commission via electronic mail to edfp@ic.nc.gov. Documents required to be filed via EDFP that are sent to the Commission via electronic mail when EDFP is operable shall not be accepted for filing.

(c)  Transcripts of depositions shall be filed with the Commission pursuant to this Rule by the court reporting service. Transcripts filed with the Commission shall have only one page of text per page and shall include all exhibits. The parties shall provide the Commission's court reporting service with the information necessary to effectuate filing of the deposition transcripts and attached exhibits via EDFP. If an exhibit to a deposition is in a form that makes submission of an electronic copy impracticable, counsel for the party offering the exhibit shall make arrangements with the Commission to facilitate the submission of the exhibit. Condensed transcripts and paper copies of deposition transcripts shall not be accepted for filing.

(d)  A Form 19 shall be filed as the first report of injury (FROI) via electronic data interchange (EDI), except in claims involving non-insured employers, in claims for lung disease, in claims with multiple employers or multiple carriers, or in claims with six-character IC file numbers, in which case the Form 19 shall be filed electronically via EDFP or as otherwise permitted pursuant to Paragraph (a) of this Rule. Information regarding how to register for and use EDI is available at www.ncicedi.info.

(e)  Documents to be filed with the Criminal Investigations & Employee Classification Division regarding fraud complaints shall be submitted electronically to fraudcomplaints@ic.nc.gov. Documents to be filed with the Criminal Investigations & Employee Classification Division regarding employee misclassification shall be submitted electronically to emp.classification@ic.nc.gov. Safety rules to be filed with the Commission under 11 NCAC 23A .0411 shall be submitted electronically to safety@ic.nc.gov.

(f)  A self-insured employer, carrier or guaranty association, third-party administrator, court reporting service, medical provider, or law firm may apply to the Commission for an emergency temporary waiver of the electronic filing requirement set forth in Paragraph (a) of this Rule when it is unable to comply because of temporary technical problems or lack of electronic mail or internet access. The request for an emergency temporary waiver shall be included with any filing submitted via facsimile, U.S. Mail, or hand delivery due to such temporary technical or access issues.

(g)  A Notice of Appeal to the North Carolina Court of Appeals shall be accepted for filing by the Commission via EDFP, U.S. Mail, hand delivery, or any other means allowed by the Rules of Appellate Procedure or applicable statutes governing appeals from the General Courts of Justice. Notwithstanding the foregoing, employees and non-insured employers without legal representation may file all documents with the Commission as provided in Paragraph (a) of this Rule.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 97-80; 97-81; 97-86;

Eff. February 1, 2016;

Amended Eff. February 1, 2017;

Recodified from 04 NCAC 10A .0108 Eff. June 1, 2018;

Amended Eff. March 1, 2021; December 1, 2018.