Report: COVID-19 Presumption on Borrowed Time

Thursday, September 17, 2020 | 0

Legislation that would create a presumption that COVID-19 is compensable is expected to die after it was referred to a Virginia Senate fiscal committee Wednesday, according to a report by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee referred House Bill 5028, by Del. Jay Jones, D-Norfolk, to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.

HB 5028 would create a presumption that COVID-19 is compensable for firefighters, law enforcement officers, first responders, health care providers and school board employees.

Last month, the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee failed to act on SB 5066 and allowed the measure by Sen. Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax, to die. That bill would have created a COVID-19 presumption for firefighters, law enforcement, first responders, health care providers and correctional officers.

The Times-Dispatch reported the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee on Wednesday killed a bill that would have required employers to provide up to two weeks of paid sick leave for workers who have to go into quarantine. The newspaper reported that HB 5028 is “likely headed to a similar fate.”