This year, NCCI tracked more than 800 state and federal workers compensation-related bills and monitored almost 200 workers compensation-related regulations. Legislation impacting workers compensation coverage for first responders continued to be a hot topic with more than 100 bills considered. Here are the key areas of legislative interest for the coming months.
The First Responder Bills addressed compensability for certain cancers and other diseases as well as compensability for post traumatic stress disorder.
California addressed this issue with AB 1749 which was signed into law this year. This new law was created as a result of the October 1, 2017, mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. The new law provides that an employer, at its discretion or in accordance with specified policies, is not precluded from accepting liability for compensation for an injury sustained by a peace officer by reason of engaging in the apprehension or attempted apprehension of law violators or suspected law violators, or protection or preservation of life or property, or the preservation of the peace, outside the state of California.
Legalization of Marijuana. At least 25 states considered legislation to legalize marijuana for medical and/or recreational purposes this year; however, only a few states, including Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Vermont enacted laws. At this time, there are nine states, plus the District of Columbia, that have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and three states, Idaho, Kansas, and Nebraska, that have not legalized marijuana in any form.
Opioids. In 2018, almost every state introduced legislation related to prescription drugs and about 20 states considered legislation addressing prescription drugs in workers compensation. Arizona and Hawaii passed legislation this session to address the use of opioids in workers compensation.
Gig Economy. In 2018, nine states considered legislation defining the term “marketplace contractor” to classify certain on-demand workers as independent contractors. Five of those states—Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and Tennessee—passed legislation in 2018.
The circumstances under which California businesses may classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees under California wage laws have been greatly narrowed by a decision the California Supreme Court issued April 30, 2018.
The landmark decision in the case known as Dynamex presumes that all workers are employees, sets out a new three-part “ABC” test businesses must satisfy in order to classify workers as independent contractors, and, as one expects in California, places the burden on the business, not the worker, to prove that any particular worker is properly classified as an independent contractor. The decision has immediate ramifications for businesses throughout California.
Air Ambulances. There is pending federal legislation which is intended to preserve state authority to regulate network participation, reimbursement, and balance billing of air carriers providing air ambulance services. Currently the federal Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 has been held to preempt state regulation of air ambulance fees in some litigation. California’s Court of Appeal denied defendant’s petition for writ of review in the en banc deci