Senate Bill No. 660
Public Act No. 21-107
AN ACT EXPANDING WORKERS' COMPENSATION BENEFITS FOR
CERTAIN MENTAL OR EMOTIONAL IMPAIRMENTS SUFFERED BY
HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS IN CONNECTION WITH COVID -19.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subdivision (16) of section 31-275 of the general statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from
passage):
(16) (A) "Personal injury" or "injury" includes, in addition to
accidental injury that may be definitely located as to the time when and
the place where the accident occurred, an injury to an employee that is
causally connected with the employee's employment and is the direct
result of repetitive trauma or repetitive acts incident to such
employment, and occupational disease.
(B) "Personal injury" or "injury" shall not be construed to include:
(i) An injury to an employee that results from the employee's
voluntary participation in any activity the major purpose of which is
social or recreational, including, but not limited to, athletic events,
parties and picnics, whether or not the employer pays some or all of the
cost of such activity; Senate Bill No. 660
Public Act No. 21-107 2 of 9
(ii) A mental or emotional impairment, unless such impairment (I)
arises from a physical injury or occupational disease, (II) in the case of a
police officer of the Division of State Police within the Department of
Emergency Services and Public Protection, an organized local police
department or a municipal constabulary, arises from such police
officer's use of deadly force or subjection to deadly force in the line of
duty, regardless of whether such police officer is physically injured,
provided such police officer is the subject of an attempt by another
person to cause such police officer serious physical injury or death
through the use of deadly force, and such police officer reasonably
believes such police officer to be the subject of such an attempt, or (III)
in the case of [a police officer, parole officer or firefighter] an eligible
individual as defined in section 31-294k, as amended by this act, is a
diagnosis of post-traumatic stress [disorder] injury as defined in section
31-294k, as amended by this act, that meets all the requirements of
section 31-294k, as amended by this act. As used in this clause, "in the
line of duty" means any action that a police officer is obligated or
authorized by law, rule, regulation or written condition of employment
service to perform, or for which the police officer or firefighter is
compensated by the public entity such officer serves;
(iii) A mental or emotional impairment that results from a personnel
action, including, but not limited to, a transfer, promotion, demotion or
termination; or
(iv) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (B)(i) of this
subdivision, "personal injury" or "injury" includes injuries to employees
of local or regional boards of education resulting from participation in a
school-sponsored activity but does not include any injury incurred
while going to or from such activity. As used in this clause, "school-
sponsored activity" means any activity sponsored, recognized or
authorized by a board of education and includes activities conducted on
or off school property and "participation" means acting as a chaperone, Senate Bill No. 660
Public Act No. 21-107 3 of 9
advisor, supervisor or instructor at the request of an administrator with
supervisory authority over the employee.
Sec. 2. Section 31-294k of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "COVID-19" means the respiratory disease designated by the
World Health Organization on February 11, 2020, as coronavirus 2019,
and any related mutation thereof recognized by the World Health
Organization as a communicable respiratory disease;
(2) "Eligible individual" means a police officer, firefighter, emergency
medical services personnel, Department of Correction employee,
telecommunicator or health care provider;
(3) "Emergency medical services personnel" has the same meaning as
provided in section 20-206jj;
[(1)] (4) "Firefighter" has the same meaning as provided in section 7-
313g;
(5) "Health care provider" means (A) a person employed at a doctor's
office, hospital, health care center, clinic, medical school, local health
department or agency, nursing facility, retirement facility, nursing
home, group home, home health care provider, any facility that
performs laboratory or medical testing, pharmacy or any similar
institution, or (B) a person employed to provide personal care
assistance, as defined in section 17b-706, in or about a private dwelling,
provided such person is regularly employed by the owner or occupier
of the dwelling for more than twenty-six hours per week;
[(2)] (6) "In the line of duty" means any action that [a police officer,
parole officer or firefighter] an eligible individual is obligated or Senate Bill No. 660
Public Act No. 21-107 4 of 9
authorized by law, rule, regulation or written condition of employment
service to perform, or for which the [officer or firefighter] eligible
individual is compensated by the public entity such [officer or
firefighter] individual serves, except that, in the case of a volunteer
firefighter, such action or service constitutes fire duties, as defined in
subsection (b) of section 7-314b;
[(3)] (7) "Mental health professional" means a board-certified
psychiatrist or a psychologist licensed pursuant to chapter 383, who has
experience diagnosing and treating post-traumatic stress [disorder]
injury;
[(4)] (8) "Parole officer" means an employee of the Department of
Correction who supervises inmates in the community after their release
from prison on parole or under another prison release program;
[(5)] (9) "Police officer" has the same meaning as provided in section
7-294a, except that "police officer" does not include an officer of a law
enforcement unit of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe or the Mohegan
Tribe of Indians of Connecticut;
[(6) "Post-traumatic stress disorder"] (10) "Post-traumatic stress
injury" means [a disorder] an injury that meets the diagnostic criteria for
post-traumatic stress disorder as specified in the most recent edition of
the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders"; [and]
[(7)] (11) "Qualifying event" means: [an]
(A) An event occurring in the line of duty on or after July 1, 2019, in
which a police officer, parole officer, [or] firefighter, emergency medical
services personnel, Department of Correction employee or
telecommunicator:
[(A)] (i) Views a deceased minor; Senate Bill No. 660
Public Act No. 21-107 5 of 9
[(B)] (ii) Witnesses the death of a person or an incident involving the
death of a person;
[(C)] (iii) Witnesses an injury to a person who subsequently dies
before or upon admission at a hospital as a result of the injury and not
as a result of any other intervening cause;
[(D)] (iv) Has physical contact with and treats an injured person who
subsequently dies before or upon admission at a hospital as a result of
the injury and not as a result of any other intervening cause;
[(E)] (v) Carries an injured person who subsequently dies before or
upon admission at a hospital as a result of the injury and not as a result
of any other intervening cause; or
[(F)] (vi) Witnesses a traumatic physical injury that results in the loss
of a vital body part or a vital body function that results in permanent
disfigurement of the victim, [.] or
(B) An event arising out of and in the course of employment on or
after March 10, 2020, in which an eligible individual who is a health care
provider is engaged in activities substantially dedicated to mitigating or
responding to the public health and civil preparedness emergencies
declared by the Governor on March 10, 2020, or any extension of such
emergency declarations, and:
(i) Witnesses the death of a person due to COVID-19 or due to
symptoms that were later diagnosed as COVID-19;
(ii) Witnesses an injury to a person who subsequently dies as a result
of COVID-19 or due to symptoms that were later diagnosed as COVID-
19;
(iii) Has physical contact with and treats or provides care for a person
who subsequently dies as a result of COVID-19 or due to symptoms that Senate Bill No. 660
Public Act No. 21-107 6 of 9
were later diagnosed as COVID-19; or
(iv) Witnesses a traumatic physical injury that results in the loss of a
vital body function of a person due to COVID-19 or due to symptoms
that were later diagnosed as COVID-19;
(12) "Telecommunicator" has the same meaning as provided in
section 28-30; and
(13) "Witnesses" means, for an eligible individual who is a
telecommunicator, hears by telephone or radio while directly
responding to an emergency call that constitutes a qualifying event
under this section and providing a dispatch assignment.
(b) A diagnosis of post-traumatic stress [disorder] injury is
compensable as a personal injury as described in subparagraph
(B)(ii)(III) of subdivision (16) of section 31-275, as amended by this act,
if a mental health professional examines [a police officer, parole officer
or firefighter] the eligible individual and diagnoses the [officer or
firefighter] individual with a post-traumatic stress [disorder] injury as a
direct result of a qualifying event, provided (1) the post-traumatic stress
[disorder] injury resulted from [the officer or firefighter] (A) the eligible
individual acting in the line of duty if such individual is a police officer,
firefighter, emergency medical services personnel, Department of
Correction employee or telecommunicator and, in the case of a
firefighter, such firefighter complied with Federal Occupational Safety
and Health Act standards adopted pursuant to 29 CFR 1910.134 and 29
CFR 1910.156, or (B) the eligible individual acting the course of
employment if such individual is a health care provider, (2) a qualifying
event was a substantial factor in causing the [disorder, (3) such
qualifying event, and not another event or source of stress, was the
primary cause of the post-traumatic stress disorder] injury, and [(4)] (3)
the post-traumatic stress [disorder] injury did not result from any
disciplinary action, work evaluation, job transfer, layoff, demotion, Senate Bill No. 660
Public Act No. 21-107 7 of 9
promotion, termination, retirement or similar action of the [officer or
firefighter] eligible individual. Any such mental health professional
shall comply with any workers' compensation guidelines for approved
medical providers, including, but not limited to, guidelines on release
of past or contemporaneous medical records.
(c) Whenever liability to pay compensation is contested by the
employer, the employer shall file with the commissioner, on or before
the twenty-eighth day after the employer has received a written notice
of claim, a notice in accordance with a form prescribed by the
chairperson of the Workers' Compensation Commission stating that the
right to compensation is contested, the name of the claimant, the name
of the employer, the date of the alleged injury and the specific grounds
on which the right to compensation is contested. The employer shall
send a copy of the notice to the employee in accordance with section 31-
321. If the employer or the employer's legal representative fails to file
the notice contesting liability on or before the twenty-eighth day after
receiving the written notice of claim, the employer shall commence
payment of compensation for such injury on or before the twenty-eighth
day after receiving the written notice of claim, but the employer may
contest the employee's right to receive compensation on any grounds or
the extent of the employee's disability within one hundred eighty days
from the receipt of the written notice of claim and any benefits paid
during the one hundred eighty days shall be considered payments
without prejudice, provided the employer shall not be required to
commence payment of compensation when the written notice of claim
has not been properly served in accordance with section 31-321 or when
the written notice of claim fails to include a warning that the employer
(1) if the employer has commenced payment for the alleged injury on or
before the twenty-eighth day after receiving a written notice of claim,
shall be precluded from contesting liability unless a notice contesting
liability is filed within one hundred eighty days from the receipt of the
written notice of claim, and (2) shall be conclusively presumed to have Senate Bill No. 660
Public Act No. 21-107 8 of 9
accepted the compensability of the alleged injury unless the employer
either files a notice contesting liability on or before the twenty-eighth
day after receiving a written notice of claim or commences payment for
the alleged injury on or before such twenty-eighth day. An employer
shall be entitled, if the employer prevails, to reimbursement from the
claimant of any compensation paid by the employer on and after the
date the commissioner receives written notice from the employer or the
employer's legal representative, in accordance with the form prescribed
by the chairperson of the Workers' Compensation Commission, stating
that the right to compensation is contested. Notwithstanding the
provisions of this subsection, an employer who fails to contest liability
for an alleged injury on or before the twenty-eighth day after receiving
a written notice of claim and who fails to commence payment for the
alleged injury on or before such twenty-eighth day, shall be conclusively
presumed to have accepted the compensability of the alleged injury. If
an employer has opted to post an address of where notice of a claim for
compensation by an employee shall be sent, as described in subsection
(a) of section 31-294c, the twenty-eight-day period set forth in this
subsection shall begin on the date when such employer receives written
notice of a claim for compensation at such posted address.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, workers'
compensation benefits for any [police officer, parole officer or
firefighter] eligible individual for a personal injury described in
subparagraph (B)(ii)(III) of subdivision (16) of section 31-275, as
amended by this act, shall (1) include any combination of medical
treatment prescribed by a board-certified psychiatrist or a licensed
psychologist, temporary total incapacity benefits under section 31-307
and temporary partial incapacity benefits under subsection (a) of section
31-308, and (2) be provided for a maximum of fifty-two weeks from the
date of diagnosis. No medical treatment, temporary total incapacity
benefits under section 31-307 or temporary partial incapacity benefits
under subsection (a) of section 31-308 shall be awarded beyond four Senate Bill No. 660
Public Act No. 21-107 9 of 9
years from the date of the qualifying event that formed the basis for the
personal injury. The weekly benefits received by an [officer or a
firefighter] eligible individual pursuant to section 31-307 or subsection
(a) of section 31-308, when combined with other benefits including, but
not limited to, contributory and noncontributory retirement benefits,
Social Security benefits, benefits under a long-term or short-term
disability plan, but not including payments for medical care, shall not
exceed the average weekly wage paid to such [officer or firefighter]
eligible individual. An [officer or firefighter] eligible individual
receiving benefits pursuant to this subsection shall not be entitled to
benefits pursuant to subsection (b) of section 31-308 or section 31-308a.