In an unexpected turn of events, the State of Connecticut has announced that any essential worker that contracts COVID-19 will automatically qualify for Worker’s Compensation.
Governor of Connecticut Ned Lamont issued an executive order that anyone, now and in the past, that worked as an essential worker and became ill with COVID-19, will automatically qualify for worker’s compensation.
The full statement, readable here, goes into further detail about the claims. To bring it to layman’s terms, though: There is a rebuttable presumption for eligibility for the following circumstances.
- The worker missed work between March 10, 2020 and May 20, 2020 due to a COVID diagnosis.
- The worker attended work, outside of their home, at least once in the 14 days before diagnosis.
- The worker can provide a lab report confirming their illness as COVID-19
- The employer cannot confirm that the worker did not acquire the illness from work, but from non-work related instances.
Furthermore, from now forward, employers are required to produce a report of all Worker’s Comp claims for each month. The order also reiterates that a company is not allowed to discipline, or fire, an employee for making a Worker’s Comp claim.
The executive order will remain in effect for the next six months, starting now, unless otherwise modified or terminated.
This is a surprisingly pro-worker decision in the world of American capitalism. There are countless people still working, exposing themselves to a potentially lethal disease in order to keep the nation running. The least they deserve is to be taken care of if they get sick because of it.