§ 97-12.1.  Willful misrepresentation in applying for employment.

No compensation shall be allowed under this Article for injury by accident or occupational disease if the employer proves that (i) at the time of hire or in the course of entering into employment, (ii) at the time of receiving notice of the removal of conditions from a conditional offer of employment, or (iii) during the course of a post-offer medical examination:

(1) The employee knowingly and willfully made a false representation as to the employee's physical condition;

(2) The employer relied upon one or more false representations by the employee, and the reliance was a substantial factor in the employer's decision to hire the employee; and

(3) There was a causal connection between false representation by the employee and the injury or occupational disease. (2011-287, s. 3.)