Bill Would Revise Stipulations for Survivor Benefits in Comp

Tuesday, February 22, 2022 | 0

A bill introduced in Georgia would remove language in workers’ compensation law that eliminates survivor benefits for spouses who cohabitate.

HB 1375, introduced Thursday by Rep. Beth Moore, D-Peachtree Corners, would keep in place language that states dependency of a spouse — and thus benefits — “upon a deceased employee shall terminate with remarriage” and eliminates provisions that would terminate benefits under other circumstances.

Specifically, the bill crosses out “cohabitation in a meretricious relationship; and for this purpose cohabitation in a meretricious relationship shall be a relationship in which persons of the opposite sex live together continuously and openly in a relationship similar or akin to marriage, which relationship includes either sexual intercourse or the sharing of living expenses.”

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