Five Things to Catch Up On: 10/28, Weekend Edition

Sarasota, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) -

1) ID: First Responders/PTSD Legislation Receives Some Positive Feedback from Local Legislators (FRIDAY)

Idaho has been hit with some recent attention regarding PTSD and first responders. Currently, if a first responder is hurt on the job and files a work comp claim for PTSD resulting from said injury, they are eligible for benefits, writes Tommy Simmons of The Idaho Press Tribune. But, if the first responder is afflicted with PTSD and no original physical injury occurred, things can get a little tricky. “…House Democratic Leader Mat Erpelding, D-Boise, intends to change that, though, he said at a Thursday morning press conference outside Boise’s City Hall West, home to its police and fire departments. He unveiled a draft of new legislation which would make a post-traumatic stress injury a ‘compensable injury or occupational disease’ if a first responder is diagnosed with the injury as a result of their work on the job,” per the article. Multiple legislators from both sides of the aisle support this bill, leading Erpelding to think the bill will be a successful piece of legislation.

2) OH: New Pilot Program Expected to Aid Employers in Hiring Workers Recovering from Opioid Addiction (THURSDAY)

A new Montgomery County, OH pilot program is underway, aiming to aid in the local opioid abuse battle, writes Gabi Warwick of ABC 22 Now. Dubbed “The Opioid Safety pilot program,” the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation will donate as much as $5 million to help local areas take on workers involved in opioid addiction recovery. The program will “…give employers reimbursement for pre-employment, random and reasonable suspicion drug testing, training for management-level employees to help them better manage a staff that includes people in recovery and a chance for ‘second-chance’ employers to share success stories and learn from each other,” per the article.

3) PA Firefighter’s Occupational Exposure Claim Will Go Back to the Work Comp Board (WEDNESDAY)

A Philadelphia firefighter diagnosed with melanoma, Scott Sladek, turned to the courts for help with his workers’ comp claim in 2012, according to David Madden of the KYWAM radio station. As of recently, the state supreme court has placed the “burden of proof” on the fire dept. to prove his cancer didn’t come from on-the-job exposure. According to his attorney interviewed in the news segment, this could be a big influencer in not just firefighters’ cases, but any industries involving dangerous chemical exposures on the job. Sladek has 24 years of firefighting experience. The case will go back to the workers’ comp board.

4) CA: WCIRB Releases Cumulative Trauma Claims Report; Stats Dating Back to 2008 (TUESDAY)

“Cumulative trauma claim rates in California have grown by 50% since 2008 and 40% of such claims are filed after an employee is terminated, according to a report released Wednesday by the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California,” writes Louise Esola of Business Insurance. “…The report, which studies industry sectors and regions in the state, show that recent cumulative trauma claim growth relates to claims in the Los Angeles and San Diego regions, which generate 75% of such claims but only 50% of other types of workers’ comp claims…” These types of claims statistically seem to be completed slower than other “specific injury claims,” and employees on the “lower wage” pay scale in the southern part of the state are seeing a higher amount of cumulative trauma claims, per the report. To read more of the report, click here.

5) DE: New Mass Layoff Warning Act to Come into Play in January (MONDAY)

“…Beginning January 7, 2019, Delaware law will require certain businesses doing business in the state to provide at least 60 days’ advance notice of mass layoffs, plant closings, or relocations,” according to the National Law Review. “…As a result of the Delaware Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (DE WARN Act), a category of employers not covered by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) will have to provide notice before conducting a mass layoff, plant closing, or relocation.” The new act pertains to any employer with 100 or more employees, and a cumulative of 2,000 work hours per week. “…Under the DE WARN Act, a part-time employee means an employee who is employed for an average of fewer than 20 hours a week or who has been employed for fewer than six of the 12 months preceding the date on which notice is required.” It doesn’t apply to public sector jobs through the state or country. Violations of the act could lead to $1,000 per day in charges, or $100 per day per affected worker, whichever is more.

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