Connecticut workers’ comp law now in effect

• Eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits for post-traumatic dress injuries was expanded to all employees covered by the workers’ compensation law at the first of the year in Connecticut.
• The previous law generally limited the eligibility for these benefits to certain first responders like police officers, fighters, emergency medical services personnel, and dispatchers who were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress injury, or PTSI, as a direct result of working in the line of duty.
• The act now allows any employee covered by workers’ compensation law to qualify for the benefits if the same qualifying event happens during the employment (i.e., witnesses someone’s death).
• The benefits provided to them are still subject to the same procedures and limitations applied to first responders.
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Concerns over workers’ comp hike in Washington 

• An average annual increase of $65 in workers’ compensation premiums will be shared by employers and employees took effect in Washington on Jan. 1.
• Earlier this year, Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries announced the 4.9% compensation premium rate increase for each full-time employee. Workers will pay about a quarter of the premium.
• he Labor Department touts the rate hike as a way “to help cover the cost of providing wage and disability benefits for injured workers, as well as medical treatment of workplace injuries and illnesses.”
• The National Federation of Independent Business worries that increased workers’ compensation costs would be another burden born by the state’s small business owners.
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New Jersey wants fair treatment for contractors

• The New Jersey Department of Labor and the Attorney General are cracking down on the misclassification of workers as independent contractors.
• The failure to carry sufficient workers’ compensation insurance, based on a theory that the workers were not “employees” is at the heart of this case.
• The Attorney General noted the supposed deprivations that these allegedly misclassified workers were subjected to.
• When employers unlawfully and callously toss their workers into the independent contractor category they are not only depriving them of a steady paycheck, but they are also stripping them of earned sick leave, workers’ compensation, minimum wage, and more.
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Psychological issues can lead to workers’ comp

• Since 2000, 40% of workers’ compensation claims for employees who have missed workdays due to injury have experienced a psychosocial barrier to recovery.
• Employers must acknowledge and deal with the mental health needs of their workforce. Mental health issues affect physical health, productivity, and injury recovery.
• Handling these situations well within the new workplace dynamics results in a healthier workforce that is engaged and loyal.
• Finding accommodations that everyone can feel good about is challenging but critically important.
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