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In response to the pandemic, Pennsylvania passed Act 17 of 2020 providing 60 days of automatic entitlement to disability benefits for law enforcement officers diagnosed or quarantined due to COVID-19 regardless of source as well as providing COVID-19 benefits for members of the Pennsylvania National Guard.
Pennsylvania’s legislature is also considering HB 2396 which states that during states of emergency a broad class of workers, including first responders, law enforcement, firefighters, retail workers, food and agriculture workers, medical workers, pharmacists, home health aides, employees of state or local government, trash collectors, and warehouse workers, would be provided a presumption of work-relatedness for any “infectious disease”. The legislature is also considering HB 2485 which would create a COVID-19 workers’ compensation presumption for healthcare providers responsible for providing in-person care to patients involving exposure to COVID-19.
These proposed laws are part of a rapidly expanding national trend. Legislative bodies and executives across the country are currently considering laws expanding eligibility for compensation while often also creating broad evidentiary presumptions of work-relatedness for COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims.
Laws creating broad evidentiary presumptions for COVID-19 present both practical and legal problems for employers and workers’ compensation insurance carriers and may also ultimately frustrate their intended beneficiaries -- the front-line workers suffering from COVID-19. For workers, the rush to legislate has resulted in bills that are overbroad, covering employees with no special risk of exposure e.g. police dispatchers and hospital administrators, and under broad, often leaving out less glamorous jobs with high exposure such as bus drivers and store clerks. For employers and insurers, these laws radically shift the burden of proof on existing policies and may create enormous liabilities. Challenges to these laws will need to be resolved by courts - these bills may not withstand constitutional challenges based on retroactivity, the takings clause, the contracts clause, and due process.
Chartwell is working across the nation to represent the interests of insurers and employers. Chartwell attorneys are on the front-line litigating all issues associated with COVID-19 and are available to advise regarding both individual claims and litigation challenging legislation
As of April 30, 2020,
Pennsylvania
does not yet have a law creating a presumption of work-relatedness for the diagnosis of COVID-19. However, national trends suggest that such legislation may only be a matter of time.
Laws creating broad evidentiary presumptions for COVID-19 present both practical and legal problems for employers and workers’ compensation insurance carriers and may also ultimately frustrate their intended beneficiaries -- the front-line workers suffering from COVID-19. For workers, the rush to legislate has resulted in bills that are overbroad, covering employees with no special risk of exposure e.g. police dispatchers and hospital administrators, and under broad, often leaving out less glamorous jobs with high exposure such as bus drivers and store clerks. For employers and insurers, these laws radically shift the burden of proof on existing policies and may create enormous liabilities. Challenges to these laws will need to be resolved by courts - these bills may not withstand constitutional challenges based on retroactivity, the takings clause, the contracts clause, and due process.
Chartwell is working across the nation to represent the interests of insurers and employers. Chartwell attorneys are on the front-line litigating all issues associated with COVID-19 and are available to advise regarding both individual claims and litigation challenging legislation.
Chartwell Law represents the interests of insurers and employers, as such, we continue to continue to monitor the legal landscape. If you have any questions about issues associated with COVID-19, our attorneys are available to help. Please contact your Chartwell Law attorney or email us at Covid19WC@chartwelllaw.com.
