Bills › 89th General Assembly
Relating to the rights of employees infected with COVID-19 under the state workers’ compensation program
Topics:Health careJobs & workers
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedJanuary 25, 2021
- Done: SubcommitteeJanuary 26, 2021
- Stopped: Senate committeeDied when the General Assembly ended
- Next: Passes the Senate
- Next: House committee
- Next: Passes the House
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Died when the session ended The 2022 session adjourned on May 24, 2022, the General Assembly’s last regular session. Bills that didn’t pass both chambers died. What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
AI summary If an employee catches COVID-19 while working, the law will assume the infection happened because of their job. Employers would have to pay these workers at least two weeks of compensation to help them recover and prevent spreading the virus. This extra pay does not replace any other workers' compensation benefits the employee might be entitled to.1
Read the official explanation
Under current law, Code chapter 686D, the COVID-19 response and back-to-business limited liability Act, shall not be construed to affect the rights or limits under workers’ compensation. This bill provides that a rebuttable presumption exists that an employee’s COVID-19 infection is a personal injury arising out of and in the course of employment for purposes of workers’ compensation. The bill requires that an employer pay an employee with a COVID-19 infection that is a personal injury arising out of and in the course of employment a minimum of two weeks of weekly compensation benefits to allow for a period of recovery and to minimize infections of other employees. Such benefits shall not be construed to limit any other workers’ compensation available to an injured employee.
Senate subcommittee
Named January 26, 2021. It hasn’t reported yet.
Three legislators hear a bill first and recommend what the committee should do; it’s the best time to weigh in. How to take part