When the Board orders an SIME (Second Independent Medical Evaluation), the Employer is obligated to pay the doctor, provide transportation and pay per diem to the Employee. These arrangements must be made and conveyed to the Employee no later than 10 days before the SIME appointment. 8 AAC 45.090.
The “per diem” is the amount of money to which the Employee is entitled for meals and incidentals. The proper amount depends on how long the Employee is out of state and where the Employee is set. The Alaska Workers Compensation Board had adopted the federal standards for establishing per diem. http://labor.state.ak.us/wc/bulletins/13-01.pdf.
The federal per diem rates are found at the government website: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104877.
For instance, if an Employee was sent to San Francisco for 24 hours for a SIME, the Employer should send the Employee a check for $71 to cover meals and incidentals. http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/100120.
If the Employer fails to provide timely notice of the travel arrangements, that is 10 days or more in advance, then the Employee is not obligated to attend the SIME. The reason for the 10 days notice is apparent. It allows the Employee time to arrange time of work or babysitting or dogsitting or any other arrangements that need to be made.
If the Employee does not attend the SIME because the Employer did not make travel arrangements timely, the Employer is obligated to pay the doctor’s missed appointment fee. If the appointment is missed, the Employee call the Board and/or request a prehearing to inform the Board designee so that another appointment can be made.
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For more information about Workers Compensation, see: http://www.keenanpowell.com/faq-wc.html.