Workers’ comp bill for first responders gets pushback
- Maryland lawmakers are considering a bill that would categorize post-traumatic stress disorder as a presumed occupational disease eligible for workers’ compensation for a lengthy list of public sector workers.
- Employees must be diagnosed by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist with PTSD and prove to have an occupational disease that was suffered in the line of duty
- Brianna January, Associate Policy Director for the Maryland Association of Counties, testified before the House Economic Matters Committee in opposition to the measure, claiming the measure creates an unreasonable and unenforceable standard.
- She also said the bill skips past the process to determine if an individual suffers from PTSD because of their professional capacity and instead applies an effectively irrebuttable presumption that all such cases are work-related.
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Mississippi police office still waiting for workers’ comp case
- After four years, a former police officer in Verona, Mississippi, is still waiting for Lee County officials to resolve her sexual harassment lawsuit and a separate workers’ compensation claim.
- Stephanie Goree Moffett filed a federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claim in late 2016, alleging that former Verona Police Chief J.B. Long sexually harassed her. She said the city tried to settle the ensuing federal lawsuit by offering her just $1,000.
- Moffett was attacked by a suspect in February 2017, leaving her with more than $200,000 in medical bills. She said the city only took care of a little more than $13,000 before they stopped paying three years ago.
- The delays are likely the result of multiple factors, Moffett had two cases going at the same time, one in the federal courts and one in the state. Another issue in tying the cases together is the liability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance were both handled by Mississippi Municipal Services Co.
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Washington State updating longshoreman safety rules
- The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is hosting a virtual stakeholder meeting on March 21, 2024, to discuss updates to the safety standards governing longshore, stevedore, and other waterfront-related operations.
- This initiative, which is being led by L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety & Health, aims to revise chapter 296-56 WAC, aligning it with new legislative and federal requirements.
- The updates are in response to the Substitute House Bill (SHB) 1706, passed in 2022, which mandates restroom access and lactation spaces for drayage truck operators within port and rail yard properties.
- This move, enforced jointly by L&I and the Department of Health, seeks to enhance working conditions for maritime workers.
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Brooklyn had the most construction deaths
- The York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health report found that Brooklyn has had the most deaths of workers.
- A study by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health found construction fatalities increased for the third year in a row in 2022, the most recent year that data was available.
- There were 19 OSHA-investigated fatalities in 2022, of which Brooklyn led the way with eight, followed by Queens and Manhattan with four each, then two in the Bronx, and one on Staten Island.
- A spokesperson from the Department of Buildings says most of the deaths in the NYCOSH report are outside the agency’s jurisdictional authority. DOB numbers show 11 fatalities for that year.
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