The Governor of the State of Connecticut has issued an executive order effective 7/24/2020 creating a rebuttable presumption of eligibility for workers’ compensation claims relating to COVID-19 for the period of 3/10/2020 through 5/20/2020.  These claims will be deemed to fall under the category of an “occupational disease” that has arisen out of and in the course of the injured party’s employment.

To qualify for this claim, an employee:

• Must have worked, at their employer’s direction, outside of the home during at least one of the fourteen days immediately preceding the date of injury and had not received an offer or directive to work from home instead of in the physical workplace;
• If the date of injury was more than fourteen days after 3/23/2020, the claimant was deemed to be an “essential” worker by the state of Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development;
• The contraction of COVID-19 must be confirmed by a positive laboratory test within three weeks of the date of injury or diagnosis, and documented within three weeks of the date of injury by a medical professional (i.e., physician, physician’s assistant, APRN); and,
• A copy of the positive COVID-19 test must be provided by the employer

The presumption of compensability can only be rebutted if the employer or insurer demonstrates by the preponderance of evidence that the claimant’s employment was not the cause of contracting COVID-19

The COVID-19 “rebuttable presumption” is becoming common across the country, so it is not surprising that the state of Connecticut has moved in this direction.  It will be important in the discovery process to identify whether an employer has offered the claimant the opportunity to work from home.  The more difficult issue we will see moving forward is the categorization of “essential” employees, which is not an exclusive list and is actually quite broad.

Most claims involving COVID-19 will be nominal, and resolving them on a without prejudice basis will likely be more cost effective than litigating them.  What is more problematic will be claims not just involving deaths, but those involving prolonged periods of hospitalization.  The costs associated with non-death, hospitalization claims will be exorbitant, particularly with claims that result in permanent impairment to organs.

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