How many workers are covered by COVID presumptions?
State-level COVID-19 presumptions are causing a big shift in the burden of proof for workers’ comp insurance claims.
Enactment of laws and executive orders that establish presumptions for workers’ comp coverage for certain occupations at risk of contracting COVID-19 would impact around 15% of all people covered by workers’ compensation systems in Washington state and Kentucky, according to estimates from the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI).
For Alaska, Arkansas and Indiana, COVID presumptions would impact around 10% or more of employees covered by the states’ workers’ comp systems, while less than 2% of Missouri’s total workforce would see changes, according to WCRI.
Presumption extensions vary by state, with some focused on first responders and health care workers, while others stretched coverage for essential workers. Some states, such as California and Wyoming, cover all workers if certain requirements are met.
To give a better overview of the situation on a more micro level, WCRI has been releasing state-specific reports looking at how many people will be covered by current presumptions.
“These studies give a sense of the size of employment potentially covered by the laws and order,” Dr. John Ruser, WCRI president and CEO, said in a release. “They do not estimate the number of workers who contract COVID-19 at work, nor do they measure the number of COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims.”
Overall, 17 states and Puerto Rico have extended workers’ compensation coverage to include COVID as a work-related illness, the National Conference of State Legislators reported.
Big change for burden of proof
“Presumptions are significant because they change a fundamental rule in workers’ compensation, which is the burden of proof,” said Mark Walls, vice president of communication and strategic analysis for Safety National.
Normally for an infectious disease to be covered under workers comp, according to Walls, the employee would have three burden-of-proof barriers to overcome: First, they would have to prove they were exposed in the workplace; secondly, that exposure resulted in the disease; and finally that their job creates inherently more risk of catching the disease than the general public.
While more states might pass workers’ comp COVID presumptions in 2021, Walls said many will find that existing rules for proving claims will suffice.
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