Governor Lamont recently signed an executive order that helps essential employees in Connecticut qualify for workers compensation benefits. The order creates a “rebuttable presumption” that makes workers who contracted COVID-19 on the job eligible for CT workers compensation. A “rebuttable presumption” is an assumption that may be disproved by evidence to the contrary. For example, an essential employee who contracted COVID-19 at work is assumed to have suffered a work-related illness unless the employer can prove that the employee did not contract COVID-19 on the job.
If you are designated by the governor’s executive orders as “essential,” you must have missed at least one day of work between March 10, 2020 and May 20, 2020 due to a diagnosis of COVID-19, or due to symptoms that were diagnosed as COVID-19.
You must show that your employer required you to work outside your home during at least one of the fourteen days immediately preceding the date of your injury. If your the employer allowed you to work from home, you are not eligible for these benefits. Your illness must be confirmed by a positive laboratory test within three weeks of the date of your illness.
If there is a dispute, you may need a good Workers Compensation attorney to receive your proper benefits.
If you are an essential employee or are not sure if your job is deemed essential, contact the Guendelsbeger Law Offices LLP and we will answer your questions.