Across the country, policymakers are wrestling with whether a worker who contracts COVID-19 is compensated under workers’ compensation for income loss and medical expenses ─ given communicable diseases, such as the flu, have generally not been covered.
While policymakers in some states have indicated that they have existing rules and procedures in place to handle this new communicable virus, others have passed laws and executive orders to address these claims, identify the workers in scope, and determine how far the burden of proof is shifted (e.g., rebuttable presumptions).
Join the Workers Compensation Research Institute’s (WCRI) President and CEO John Ruser for a free 30-minute webinar on Thursday, May 14, at 2 p.m. ET with Judge David Langham, deputy chief judge of compensation claims for the Florida Office of Judges of Compensation Claims at the Division of Administrative Hearings, as they discuss this important topic and take your questions.
Questions addressed:
- How have communicable diseases been treated in the past in workers’ compensation?
- What has changed about COVID-19?
- How have the various states altered the potential compensability of COVID-19 claims?
- How would the different approaches to potential compensability affect the volume of claims?
- Does the treatment of COVID-19 claims signal a change in the future for how communicable diseases are covered in workers’ compensation?
Register now for this free webinar at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6989581530769374219. The webinar is limited to 500 people.
The Cambridge-based WCRI is recognized as a leader in providing high-quality, objective information about public policy issues involving workers’ compensation systems.
ABOUT WCRI:
The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) is an independent, not-for-profit research organization based in Cambridge, MA. Organized in late 1983, the Institute does not take positions on the issues it researches; rather, it provides information obtained through studies and data collection efforts, which conform to recognized scientific methods. Objectivity is further ensured through rigorous, unbiased peer review procedures. WCRI’s diverse membership includes employers; insurers; governmental entities; managed care companies; health care providers; insurance regulators; state labor organizations; and state administrative agencies in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
