Relates to permanent total disability for purposes of workers' compensation

6 Co-sponsors

• Leroy Comrie
• Jesse Hamilton
• George Latimer
• Marc Panepinto
• Kevin S. Parker
• Bill Perkins

Title of bill

An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to permanent total disability

Purpose or general idea of bill

This bill will create a presumption of permanent total disability for claimants who are found eligible for federal social security disability benefits.

Summary of specific provisions

Section one of the bill amends § 15(1) of the workers' compensation law to allow claimants who are approved for social security disability benefits to be considered permanently totally disabled in the absence of conclusive proof to the contrary.

Justification

Workers who are injured or become ill on the job often apply for federal social security disability benefits after suffering such a condition. The federal eligibility standard for these benefits is that the claimant is "unable to engage in substantial gainful activity." This standard requires that an injured worker must be unable to perform any work activity on a full-time sustained basis and is essentially considered "totally disabled" by the social

Security Administration. A claimant whose condition is severe enough to meet this disability standard should be eligible for permanent total disability benefits under the workers' compensation law.

Prior legislative history

2013-2014 - S.76 2011-12: S.728 2009-10: S.2781 Referred to Labor 2008: A.10880 Referred to Labor.

Fiscal implications

Cost savings to the State are expected, specifically due to anticipated reduction in litigation. A recent survey by the Injured Workers' Bar Association and Safety Net Reports for 2008, 2009, and 2010 demonstrate that: a) most permanently partially disabled workers are low-wage workers; b) there is little relationship between the Workers' Compensation Board's disability determinations and the actual employability of injured workers; and c) most permanently partially disabled workers are eligible for and ultimately received Social Security Disability benefits. As a result, the Board is engaging in substantial litigation over the issue of permanent partial disability without achieving rational results and while duplicating a record that has already been developed by the Social Security Administration. In fact, the 2010 safety net report found that more than two-thirds of the PPD claimants were found eligible for Social Security Disability benefits. The vast majority of these cases require testimony from the injured worker and at least two physicians. This involves considerable time and expense in order to duplicate the evidence and conclusions that were already arrived at by the Social Security disability system in at least two-thirds of the claims. It should be noted, that the rate of classification, and thus the rate of litigation, has increased substantially since 2012 due to the issuance of the Board's guidelines for determining loss of wage earning capacity and its project to accelerate the pace of classification and imposition of the PPD caps. All of these factors support the rationale behind this legislation, which is to harmonize the outcomes of the workers' compensation and Social Security disability systems, reduce litigation and achieve fundamental fairness for injured workers.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.