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On Friday, February 4, 2022, Minnesota Governor Walz signed a bill
into law that extended the workers’ compensation presumption for certain
frontline professions through 2022. The prior law addressing this
presumption expired on December 31, 2021. As of now, the new law is not
retroactive to January 2022, but there may be legislation that addresses
this later this year.
This law extends the presumption that has been in place for
much of the pandemic. By way of reminder, this presumption indicates that
employees working in first responder or healthcare occupations will be
presumed eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if they either test
positive for COVID-19 or are diagnosed by a licensed physician, physician’s
assistant, or APRN without a test. In situations where a test has not been
done, a copy of written documentation of the diagnosis shall be provided to
the Employer and Insurer. The following occupations fall into this
presumption:
·
Firefighter
·
Paramedic
·
Nurses
or Healthcare Worker
·
Correctional
Officer/Security Counselor at Minnesota Correctional Facilities
·
Emergency
Medical Technician
·
Healthcare
provider, nurse, or assistant employed with home care or long-term setting
·
Workers
required to provide childcare to first responders and health care workers
under certain Executive Orders
In summary, if an employee shows that he or she works within
one of these occupations and either tests positive for or is diagnosed with
COVID-19, the burden of proof will shift to the Employer and Insurer to
rebut the presumption. Employers and Insurers will still be able to show
that the employment was not a direct cause of the disease, but it will be
much more difficult to prevail on a denial of liability when one of these
types of employees contract COVID-19. To note, the date of injury in these
situations shall be the date the employee is no longer able to work due to
a diagnosis of COVID-19 or due to the symptoms later diagnosed as COVID-19,
whichever occurs first.
Please contact CWK Attorney Parker Olson at (952) 525-6930 or parker.olson@cwk-law.com with any questions.
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