I don't know whether there have already been cases of Covid-19 associated with employment at Social Security. If not, there may be before this is over. The Department of Labor has issued some guidelines for federal workers compensation cases alleging Covid-19 as an occupational disease.
By the way, I once had a client who got workers compensation benefits for a really bad case of tuberculosis that was affecting parts of his body well beyond his lungs. There was no dispute about it being a compensable occupational disease. He had been a monkey handler working for an enterprise doing medical research. It turns out that tuberculosis is endemic among monkeys used in research and that getting tuberculosis is a well known risk of handling those monkeys. The things you learn in this line of work.
I think if they can PROVE they got it at work, then it would be a good idea to add that on to WC. Don't need lawsuits. It's kinda hard to prove where one contracted it, however.
ReplyDeleteWorkers comp at least in California is a mess. The insurance companies out here fight tooth and nail. Now, state disability is much easier so I see a lot of people relying on that prior to Social Security. We will see if California workers comp is more sympathetic to Covid cases.
ReplyDeleteYes, in general California worker compensation is a mess, however California has a rebuttable presumption that employees Covid cases are industrially related if they meet certain criteria.
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