Connecticut improves access to workers’ comp for firefighters

• Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill into law making it easier for firefighters who develop cancer to receive workers’ compensation benefits will go into effect on Oct. 1, 2023.
• The approved law creates a presumption during the review process of a workers’ compensation claim that a firefighter’s cancer diagnosis is a result of their hazardous jobs unless proven otherwise.
• Creating this presumption will make it more difficult for firefighters to have these claims denied.
• It applies to any uniformed member of a paid municipal, state, or volunteer fire department, as well as local fire marshals, deputy fire marshals, fire investigators, fire inspectors, and other and investigators.
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Workers’ comp choices for nurses

• Staffing agencies that designate their nurses as independent contractors avoid the costs of employment-related benefits like insurance, workers’ compensation, and overtime pay.
• These agencies also lack necessary clinical and professional oversight over their contractors, which increases the risk of substandard care.
• These agencies also lack necessary clinical and professional oversight over their contractors, which increases the risk of substandard care.
• The legal risks faced by healthcare institutions that use independent contractors as part of their workforce are real.
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Worker killed in industrial accident

• One person died Monday and an investigation got underway after an industrial accident at a recycling center in Boxboro, Massachusetts.
• Boxboro police said an initial call reported the accident at Roof Top Recycling in town, where police said a person was crushed by machinery.
• Police said the injured person was airlifted to UMass Memorial Hospital and later pronounced dead.
• The incident remained under investigation by OSHA, Boxboro police, Massachusetts State Police, and the state Division of Occupational Licensure.
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Revised rules for employees to act as representatives 

• The U.S. Department of Labor wants to revise regulations regarding who can be authorized by employees to act as their representatives to accompany OSHA compliance officers during physical workplace inspections.
• The proposed rule clarifies that employees may authorize an employee, or they may authorize a non-employee third party if the compliance officer determines the third party is reasonably necessary to conduct an effective and thorough inspection.
• The proposed changes also clarify that third-party representatives are not limited to industrial hygienists or safety engineers, two examples included in the existing regulation.
• Third-party representatives may be reasonably necessary because they have skills, knowledge, or experience that may help inform the compliance officer’s inspection.
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