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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6478
January Session, 2021
AN ACT CONCERNING WO RKERS' COMPENSATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 31-308a of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 2
(a) In addition to the compensation benefits provided by section 31-3
308 for specific loss of a member or use of the function of a member of 4
the body, or any personal injury covered by this chapter, the 5
commissioner, after such payments provided by said section 31-308 6
have been paid for the period set forth in said section, may award 7
additional compensation benefits for such partial permanent disability 8
equal to seventy-five per cent of the difference between the wages 9
currently earned by an employee in a position comparable to the 10
position held by such injured employee prior to his injury, after such 11
wages have been reduced by any deduction for federal or state taxes, or 12
both, and for the federal Insurance Contributions Act in accordance with 13
section 31-310, and the weekly amount which such employee will 14
probably be able to earn thereafter, after such amount has been reduced 15
by any deduction for federal or state taxes, or both, and for the federal 16
Insurance Contributions Act in accordance with section 31-310, to be 17
determined by the commissioner based upon the nature and extent of 18
the injury, the training, education and experience of the employee, the 19 Substitute Bill No. 6478
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availability of work for persons with such physical condition and at the 20
employee's age, but not more than one hundred per cent, raised to the 21
next even dollar, of the average weekly earnings of production and 22
related workers in manufacturing in the state, as determined in 23
accordance with the provisions of section 31-309. If evidence of exact 24
loss of earnings is not available, such loss may be computed from the 25
proportionate loss of physical ability or earning power caused by the 26
injury. The duration of such additional compensation shall be 27
determined upon a similar basis by the commissioner, but in no event 28
shall the duration of such additional compensation exceed the lesser of 29
(1) [the duration of the employee's permanent partial disability benefits, 30
or (2) five hundred twenty weeks] five times the duration of the 31
employee's permanent partial disability benefits, or (2) seven hundred 32
eighty weeks. The commissioner shall determine whether the 33
employee's disability is substantial enough to allow for the award of 34
such benefits past the original duration of the employee's permanent 35
partial disability benefits. Additional benefits provided under this 36
section shall be available only to employees who are willing and able to 37
perform work in this state. 38
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, 39
additional benefits provided under this section shall be available only 40
when the nature of the injury and its effect on the earning capacity of an 41
employee warrant additional compensation. 42
Sec. 2. Section 31-290a of the general statutes is repealed and the 43
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 44
(a) No employer who is subject to the provisions of this chapter shall: 45
[discharge,] (1) Discharge or cause to be discharged, or in any manner 46
discipline or discriminate against any employee because the employee 47
has filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits or otherwise 48
exercised the rights afforded to him pursuant to the provisions of this 49
chapter, or (2) deliberately misinform or otherwise deliberately 50
dissuade an employee from filing a claim for workers' compensation 51
benefits. 52 Substitute Bill No. 6478
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(b) Any employee who is so discharged, disciplined or discriminated 53
against or who has been deliberately misinformed or dissuaded from 54
filing a claim for workers' compensation benefits may either: (1) Bring a 55
civil action in the superior court for the judicial district where the 56
employer has its principal office for the reinstatement of his previous 57
job, payment of back wages and reestablishment of employee benefits 58
to which he would have otherwise been entitled if he had not been 59
discriminated against or discharged and any other damages caused by 60
such discrimination or discharge. The court may also award punitive 61
damages. Any employee who prevails in such a civil action shall be 62
awarded reasonable attorney's fees and costs to be taxed by the court; 63
or (2) file a complaint with the chairman of the Workers' Compensation 64
Commission alleging violation of the provisions of subsection (a) of this 65
section. Upon receipt of any such complaint, the chairman shall select a 66
commissioner to hear the complaint, provided any commissioner who 67
has previously rendered any decision concerning the claim shall be 68
excluded. The hearing shall be held in the workers' compensation 69
district where the employer has its principal office. After the hearing, 70
the commissioner shall send each party a written copy of his decision. 71
The commissioner may award the employee the reinstatement of his 72
previous job, payment of back wages and reestablishment of employee 73
benefits to which he otherwise would have been eligible if he had not 74
been discriminated against or discharged. Any employee who prevails 75
in such a complaint shall be awarded reasonable attorney's fees. Any 76
party aggrieved by the decision of the commissioner may appeal the 77
decision to the Appellate Court. 78
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) For the purposes of 79
adjudication of claims for payment of benefits under the provisions of 80
chapter 568 of the general statutes, when there is a dispute regarding 81
whether a request for medical and surgical aid or hospital and nursing 82
services, including mechanical aids and prescription drugs, is 83
reasonable or necessary, the employer or insurer shall file a notice of 84
controversy. A copy of the notice of controversy shall be sent to the 85
originator of the request. A health care provider, employee or other 86 Substitute Bill No. 6478
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interested party may request a hearing regarding payment of medical 87
and related services for determination of any such dispute. 88
(b) Payment of a medical bill by an employer or insurer shall not be 89
considered an admission by the employer or the insurer as to the 90
reasonableness of subsequent medical bills. The provisions of this 91
section shall not affect the applicability of any notice provision of section 92
31-294c of the general statutes. 93
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) For the purpose of 94
adjudication of claims for payment of benefits under the provisions of 95
chapter 568 of the general statutes, an employee who died or was unable 96
to work as a result of contracting COVID-19, or due to symptoms that 97
were later diagnosed as COVID-19, at any time during (1) the public 98
health and civil preparedness emergencies declared by the Governor on 99
March 10, 2020, or any extension of such declarations, or (2) any new 100
public health and civil preparedness emergencies declared by the 101
Governor as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak in this state, shall be 102
presumed to have contracted COVID-19 as an occupational disease 103
arising out of and in the course of employment, provided (A) the 104
contraction of COVID-19 by such employee is confirmed by a positive 105
laboratory test or, if a laboratory test was not available for the employee, 106
as diagnosed and documented by the employee's licensed physician, 107
licensed physician assistant or licensed advanced practice registered 108
nurse, based on the employee's symptoms, and (B) a copy of the positive 109
laboratory test or the written documentation of the physician's, 110
physician assistant's or advanced practice registered nurse's diagnosis 111
is provided to the employer or insurer. For the purposes of this section, 112
"COVID-19" means the respiratory disease designated by the World 113
Health Organization on February 11, 2020, as coronavirus 2019, and any 114
related mutation thereof recognized by the World Health Organization 115
as a communicable respiratory disease. 116
(b) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to 117
an employee who, during the fourteen consecutive days immediately 118
preceding the date the employee died or was unable to work due to 119 Substitute Bill No. 6478
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contracting COVID-19 or due to symptoms that were later diagnosed as 120
COVID-19: (1) Was employed in a capacity where he or she worked 121
solely from home and did not have physical interaction with other 122
employees, or (2) was the recipient of an individualized written offer or 123
directive from his or her employer to work solely from home but 124
otherwise chose to work at a work site of the employer. 125
(c) Notwithstanding the definition of "occupational disease" under 126
section 31-396 of the general statutes, COVID-19 shall be considered an 127
occupational disease for any employee who was diagnosed with 128
COVID-19 in accordance with subsection (a) of this section. 129
(d) The presumption under subsection (a) of this section shall only be 130
rebutted if the employer or insurer clearly demonstrates by a 131
preponderance of the evidence that the employment of the individual 132
was not a direct cause of the occupational disease. The employer or the 133
insurer, within ten days of filing a notice to contest an employee's rights 134
to compensation benefits pursuant to section 31-294c of the general 135
statutes, shall provide evidence to rebut the presumption under 136
subsection (a) of this section. If a compensation commissioner finds that 137
such presumption has been rebutted, such commissioner shall decide 138
the claim on its merits, in accordance with established practices of 139
causation. For purposes of this section, an employee's preexisting 140
condition shall have no bearing on the merits of a claim, both with 141
regard to approving a claim and continuing benefits once benefits have 142
been awarded. The reapportionment of the levels of the burden of 143
proofs between the parties is a procedural change intended to apply to 144
all existing and future COVID-19 claims. 145
(e) An employee who has contracted COVID-19 but who is not 146
entitled to the presumption under subsection (a) of this section shall not 147
be precluded from making a claim as provided in chapter 568 of the 148
general statutes. 149
(f) Beginning on July 1, 2021, and ending on January 1, 2023, the 150
Workers' Compensation Commission shall provide a detailed report on 151 Substitute Bill No. 6478
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the first business day of each month on COVID -19 workers' 152
compensation claims and shall provide such reports to the joint 153
standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of 154
matters relating to labor and insurance. Such monthly reports shall 155
contain: (1) The number of total COVID-19 workers' compensation 156
claims filed since May 10, 2020; (2) the number of record-only claims 157
filed by hospitals, nursing homes, municipalities and other employers, 158
listed by employer name; (3) the number of COVID-19 workers' 159
compensation cases filed by state employees in each agency; (4) the 160
number of such claims contested by each individual employer, 161
including state agencies, third-party administrators and insurers, by 162
client; (5) the reasons cited by each employer, including state agencies, 163
third-party administrators and insurers, by client, for contesting such 164
claims; (6) the number of claims that have received a hearing by the 165
Workers' Compensation Commission; (7) the number of: (A) Rulings by 166
the Workers' Compensation Commission regarding such claims that 167
have been appealed, (B) approved voluntary agreements, (C) findings 168
and awards, (D) findings and dismissals, (E) petitions for review, and 169
(F) stipulations; (8) the average time it took to schedule an initial hearing 170
once it has been requested; and (9) the average time it took to adjudicate 171
contested COVID-19 workers' compensation claims. Employers, 172
including state agencies, third-party administrators and insurers shall 173
comply with all requests from the Workers' Compensation Commission 174
for information required to compile the reports. 175
Sec. 5. Subsection (a) of section 31-306 of the general statutes is 176
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 177
passage): 178
(a) Compensation shall be paid to dependents on account of death 179
resulting from an accident arising out of and in the course of 180
employment or from an occupational disease as follows: 181
(1) Four thousand dollars shall be paid for burial expenses in any case 182
in which the employee died on or after October 1, 1988, and before the 183
effective date of this section, and twenty thousand dollars shall be paid 184 Substitute Bill No. 6478
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for burial expenses in any case in which the employee died on or after 185
the effective date of this section. On January 1, 2022, and not later than 186
each January first thereafter, the compensation for burial benefits shall 187
be adjusted by the percentage increase between the last complete 188
calendar year and the previous calendar year in the consumer price 189
index for urban wage earners and clerical workers in the northeast, with 190
no seasonal adjustment, as calculated by the United States Department 191
of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. If there is no one wholly or 192
partially dependent upon the deceased employee, the burial expenses 193
[of four thousand dollars] shall be paid to the person who assumes the 194
responsibility of paying the funeral expenses. 195
(2) Twenty thousand dollars shall be paid for burial expenses in any 196
case in which an employee died due to contracting COVID-19 during 197
(A) the public health and civil preparedness emergencies declared by 198
the Governor on March 10, 2020, or any extension of such declarations, 199
or (B) any new public health and civil preparedness emergencies 200
declared by the Governor as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak in this 201
state. For the purposes of this subdivision, "COVID-19" means the 202
respiratory disease designated by the World Health Organization on 203
February 11, 2020, as coronavirus 2019, and any related mutation thereof 204
recognized by the World Health Organization as a communicable 205
respiratory disease. 206
[(2)] (3) To those wholly dependent upon the deceased employee at 207
the date of the deceased employee's injury, a weekly compensation 208
equal to seventy-five per cent of the average weekly earnings of the 209
deceased calculated pursuant to section 31-310, after such earnings have 210
been reduced by any deduction for federal or state taxes, or both, and 211
for the federal Insurance Contributions Act made from such employee's 212
total wages received during the period of calculation of the employee's 213
average weekly wage pursuant to said section 31-310, as of the date of 214
the injury but not more than the maximum weekly compensation rate 215
set forth in section 31-309 for the year in which the injury occurred or 216
less than twenty dollars weekly. (A) The weekly compensation rate of 217 Substitute Bill No. 6478
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each dependent entitled to receive compensation under this section as a 218
result of death arising from a compensable injury occurring on or after 219
October 1, 1977, shall be adjusted annually as provided in this 220
subdivision as of the following October first, and each subsequent 221
October first, to provide the dependent with a cost-of-living adjustment 222
in the dependent's weekly compensation rate as determined as of the 223
date of the injury under section 31-309. If the maximum weekly 224
compensation rate, as determined under the provisions of said section 225
31-309, to be effective as of any October first following the date of the 226
injury, is greater than the maximum weekly compensation rate 227
prevailing at the date of the injury, the weekly compensation rate which 228
the injured employee was entitled to receive at the date of the injury or 229
October 1, 1990, whichever is later, shall be increased by the percentage 230
of the increase in the maximum weekly compensation rate required by 231
the provisions of said section 31-309 from the date of the injury or 232
October 1, 1990, whichever is later, to such October first. The cost-of-233
living increases provided under this subdivision shall be paid by the 234
employer without any order or award from the commissioner. The 235
adjustments shall apply to each payment made in the next succeeding 236
twelve-month period commencing with the October first next 237
succeeding the date of the injury. With respect to any dependent 238
receiving benefits on October 1, 1997, with respect to any injury 239
occurring on or after July 1, 1993, and before October 1, 1997, such 240
benefit shall be recalculated to October 1, 1997, as if such benefits had 241
been subject to recalculation annually under this subparagraph. The 242
difference between the amount of any benefits that would have been 243
paid to such dependent if such benefits had been subject to such 244
recalculation and the actual amount of benefits paid during the period 245
between such injury and such recalculation shall be paid to the 246
dependent not later than December 1, 1997, in a lump-sum payment. 247
The employer or its insurer shall be reimbursed by the Second Injury 248
Fund, as provided in section 31-354, for adjustments, including lump-249
sum payments, payable under this subparagraph for deaths from 250
compensable injuries occurring on or after July 1, 1993, and before 251
October 1, 1997, upon presentation of any vouchers and information 252 Substitute Bill No. 6478
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that the Treasurer shall require. No claim for payment of retroactive 253
benefits may be made to the Second Injury Fund more than two years 254
after the date on which the employer or its insurer paid such benefits in 255
accordance with this subparagraph. (B) The weekly compensation rate 256
of each dependent entitled to receive compensation under this section 257
as a result of death arising from a compensable injury occurring on or 258
before September 30, 1977, shall be adjusted as of October 1, 1977, and 259
October 1, 1980, and thereafter, as provided in this subdivision to 260
provide the dependent with partial cost-of-living adjustments in the 261
dependent's weekly compensation rate. As of October 1, 1977, the 262
weekly compensation rate paid prior to October 1, 1977, to the 263
dependent shall be increased by twenty-five per cent. The partial cost-264
of-living adjustment provided under this subdivision shall be paid by 265
the employer without any order or award from the commissioner. In 266
addition, on each October first, the weekly compensation rate of each 267
dependent as of October 1, 1990, shall be increased by the percentage of 268
the increase in the maximum compensation rate over the maximum 269
compensation rate of October 1, 1990, as determined under the 270
provisions of section 31-309 existing on October 1, 1977. The cost of the 271
adjustments shall be paid by the employer or its insurance carrier who 272
shall be reimbursed for such cost from the Second Injury Fund as 273
provided in section 31-354 upon presentation of any vouchers and 274
information that the Treasurer shall require. No claim for payment of 275
retroactive benefits may be made to the Second Injury Fund more than 276
two years after the date on which the employer or its insurance carrier 277
paid such benefits in accordance with this subparagraph. 278
[(3)] (4) If the surviving spouse is the sole presumptive dependent, 279
compensation shall be paid until death or remarriage. 280
[(4)] (5) If there is a presumptive dependent spouse surviving and 281
also one or more presumptive dependent children, all of which children 282
are either children of the surviving spouse or are living with the 283
surviving spouse, the entire compensation shall be paid to the surviving 284
spouse in the same manner and for the same period as if the surviving 285 Substitute Bill No. 6478
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spouse were the sole dependent. If, however, any of the presumptive 286
dependent children are neither children of the surviving spouse nor 287
living with the surviving spouse, the compensation shall be divided into 288
as many parts as there are presumptive dependents. The shares of any 289
children having a presumptive dependent parent shall be added to the 290
share of the parent and shall be paid to the parent. The share of any 291
dependent child not having a surviving dependent parent shall be paid 292
to the father or mother of the child with whom the child may be living, 293
or to the legal guardian of the child, or to any other person, for the 294
benefit of the child, as the commissioner may direct. 295
[(5)] (6) If the compensation being paid to the surviving presumptive 296
dependent spouse terminates for any reason, or if there is no surviving 297
presumptive dependent spouse at the time of the death of the employee, 298
but there is at either time one or more presumptive dependent children, 299
the compensation shall be paid to the children as a class, each child 300
sharing equally with the others. Each child shall receive compensation 301
until the child reaches the age of eighteen or dies before reaching age 302
eighteen, provided the child shall continue to receive compensation up 303
to the attainment of the age of twenty-two if unmarried and a full-time 304
student, except any child who has attained the age of twenty-two while 305
a full-time student but has not completed the requirements for, or 306
received, a degree from a postsecondary educational institution shall be 307
deemed not to have attained age twenty-two until the first day of the 308
first month following the end of the quarter or semester in which the 309
child is enrolled at the time, or if the child is not enrolled in a quarter or 310
semester system, until the first day of the first month following the 311
completion of the course in which the child is enrolled or until the first 312
day of the third month beginning after such time, whichever occurs first. 313
When a child's participation ceases, such child's share shall be divided 314
among the remaining eligible dependent children, provided if any child, 315
when the child reaches the age of eighteen years, is physically or 316
mentally incapacitated from earning, the child's right to compensation 317
shall not terminate but shall continue for the full period of incapacity. 318 Substitute Bill No. 6478
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[(6)] (7) In all cases where there are no presumptive dependents, but 319
where there are one or more persons wholly dependent in fact, the 320
compensation in case of death shall be divided according to the relative 321
degree of their dependence. Compensation payable under th is 322
subdivision shall be paid for not more than three hundred and twelve 323
weeks from the date of the death of the employee. The compensation, if 324
paid to those wholly dependent in fact, shall be paid at the full 325
compensation rate. The compensation, if paid to those partially 326
dependent in fact upon the deceased employee as of the date of the 327
injury, shall not, in total, be more than the full compensation rate nor 328
less than twenty dollars weekly, nor, if the average weekly sum 329
contributed by the deceased at the date of the injury to those partially 330
dependent in fact is more than twenty dollars weekly, not more than the 331
sum so contributed. 332
[(7)] (8) When the sole presumptive dependents are, at the time of the 333
injury, nonresident aliens and the deceased has in this state some person 334
or persons who are dependent in fact, the commissioner may in the 335
commissioner's discretion equitably apportion the sums payable as 336
compensation to the dependents. 337
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 31-308a
Sec. 2 from passage 31-290a
Sec. 3 from passage New section
Sec. 4 from passage New section
Sec. 5 from passage 31-306(a)
LAB Joint Favorable Subst.
APP Joint Favorable