The Connecticut General Assembly considered several costly compensation proposals during the 2012 legislature1.
CBIA and allied groups have successfully spoken out against three broad measures –SB 1002, HB 6595, and HB 6478—Which has increased the wage costs of the employer-employees considerably.
The bills contained the following far-reaching changes to the current state law:
- An employee who contracted COVID-19 during the public health and civil precautionary emergency is believed to have contracted COVID-19 in the workplace regardless of where the worker became infected with COVID-19
- An increase in benefits by 400% and an expansion of the maximum number of weeks of voluntary compensation payments for employees with permanent partial disabilities that can be granted
- A private right to take legal action if the employer intentionally wrongly informs / discourages the employee about the right to claim replacement benefits
- An increase in employee death benefit from $ 4,000 to $ 20,000
- Expansion of services after post-traumatic stress injuries
- Expansion of compensation payments for employees during COVD-19 for mental and emotional impairments for police officers, firefighters, rescue workers, law enforcement officers, dispatchers, healthcare workers
- Add an additional note of controversy
Necessary workers fund
In place of these proposals, it appears that lawmakers intend to create a COVID-19 relief fund for indispensable workers in Connecticut, administered by the state’s Second Injury Fund.
Funding would come from the federal rescue plan and the death benefit would be increased to $ 12,000.
Proponents intend to set up the fund through the state budget bill during the upcoming special legislative session.
In the end, HB 6397, which required employers who insure employee compensation themselves to submit such claims to the database for all payer claims, not brought forward.
Collecting, storing and transmitting this date to the state would be costly and burdensome for employers.
For more information, please contact John Blair (860.244.1921) of CBIA.
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