Workers’ compensation to cover some employees who contract COVID-19 from work

Employees in certain professions who contract COVID-19 are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits based on the presumption that they contracted the COVID-19 virus from their work.

Those covered by a change in workers’ compensation eligibility include health care workers — including home health care workers — paramedics, emergency medical technicians, police officers, firefighters, corrections facility officers and counselors, and child care workers providing care for the children of health care workers and first responders.

Such employees are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if they contract COVID-19 and confirm their condition with a positive laboratory test or the diagnosis of a physician, physician’s assistant or nurse based upon the employee’s symptoms. An employee is not required to show that they contracted COVID-19 from a particular patient or on a particular day of work. But an employee will not be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if their employer shows that they did not contract COVID-19 as a result of their employment.

Sponsored by Rep. Dan Wolgamott (DFL-St. Cloud) and Sen. Jeff Howe (R-Rockville), the law applies to people diagnosed with COVID-19 on or after April 8, 2020, the law’s effective date. It sunsets on May 1, 2021.

Under the law, the commissioner of labor and industry is also authorized to extend the implementation date of a new workers’ compensation data management system beyond its scheduled date of Aug. 31, 2020, if the commissioner determines that it should be extended due to COVID-19 and provides notice of the delay.

HF4537*/SF4458/CH72

HF4537* / SF4458 / CH72