Sickened Deputy Thinks COVID Presumption Invoice Ought to Be Retroactive| Employees Compensation Information

Monday, February 8, 2021 | 68 | 0 | min read

The Virginia Senate has approved a COVID-19 presumptive measure, but a first responder said it does not go far enough and is not retroactive for workers who are already infected with the virus.

“I feel like they don’t care,” Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s MP Michelle Gunter told a Virginia television station.

She believes she was exposed to the coronavirus when she came into contact with a sick inmate. Her workers’ claims for compensation have been denied and she now faces more than $ 1 million in medical bills.

“I still have oxygen. I still use a walker. I wear pull ups, ”said Gunter. “At 52 it’s sad to say. But I laugh so as not to cry. “

The Senate voted 39-0 on Thursday for SB 1375, which would suggest that the illness is work-related for firefighters, law enforcement officers and correctional officers. However, the measure would only apply to those diagnosed on or after July 1 of that year.

Dick Saslaw, Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax, co-sponsor of the law, said the chamber had narrowed the scope of the presumption to exonerate the local governments that employ most of the first responders.

A similar bill, HB 2207, which was passed retrospectively, would apply retrospectively as of March 12, 2020. However, Saslaw said that so many resulting claims would be too costly.

“It won’t make it through the Senate,” Saslaw said in an interview after the vote. “The money is just not in our budget.”

A third presumption law, HB 1985, was also passed this week. It would be retroactive to March but would only cover healthcare workers. This bill was assigned to the Senate’s Trade and Labor Committee.