While just about everyone has been ordered to stay home during the COVID-19 pandemic, some businesses that have to stay open in order to keep a skeletal infrastructure intact. These are the legendary “essential workers” who have managed to retain their jobs during the quarantine. However, it is not clear in every state whether these essential workers will qualify for state workers’ compensation if they contract the virus on the job. A national push currently exists to cover these workers, and the scope of the responses vary.
States Siding with Essential Workers
Several states have passed explicit legislation in order to cover essential workers who may contract the coronavirus while working at an essential business. Utah has extended workers’ comp to cover first responders who catch the virus in the course of their duties. This is largely to help rural emergency response teams who would not normally qualify because of the part-time nature of their work.
Similarly, Kentucky has included grocery workers under their definition of essential workers, who will also qualify for workers’ comp. Among the few industries that have remained intact during the quarantine include grocery stores, and Kentucky feels that those employees who risk infection daily ought to be compensated for the hazard.
Other states like New Jersey are evaluating if they will extend their coverage, but for now this only applies to state health officials. All of these cases would require the beneficiary to demonstrate that they did in fact contract the virus due to the increased risk of working at an essential function. Some groups are pushing for other workers, such as delivery drivers, to be included in these extensions, but that remains to be seen in the United States.
The Financial Cost of Compassion
While most of these bills have passed with sweeping support, there are those who warn of the financial cost. In particular, expect workers’ comp premiums to rise as the payouts predictably do. Each taxpayer will end up paying a little bit more in order to cover these essential workers.
Other legislators worry that these laws are too broad and could permit less than legitimate claims upon the taxpayers’ money. Of course, most people feel that the safety and health of these essential workers is worth paying a little extra, but this is just one pressure among many that will add to the financial aftermath later on. As other industries like car insurance, health insurance and business interruption insurance are being forced to make payouts that do not fit within the normal pricing models, the nickels and dimes that are passed on to each household may start to add up.
Sources:
https://www.natlawreview.com/article/workers-compensation-during-covid-19