Annual Report (Industrial Commission of Arizona)

The Industrial Commission of Arizona (“ICA”) is a regulatory agency that was created in 1925 as a result of legislation implementing the constitutional provisions establishing a workers’ compensation system. From 1925 to 1969, the workers’ compensation system consisted of the State Compensation Fund, which was then a part of the Industrial Commission, and self-insured employers which generally were the mining and the railroad companies. In 1969 the workers’ compensation system was reorganized and expanded to include private insurance companies. The State Compensation Fund was split off from the Industrial Commission and established as a separate agency responsible for providing workers’ compensation coverage. The Industrial Commission retained its responsibility as the file of record and its regulatory authority over the processing of workers’ compensation claims. Since that time, the role of the Industrial Commission has been expanded to cover other labor related issues such as occupational safety and health, youth employment laws, resolution of wage related disputes, minimum wage, vocational rehabilitation, and workers’ compensation coverage for claimants of uninsured employers, insolvent insurance carriers and self-insured employers.