COVID Presumption on Deck for Special Session

State lawmakers will convene for a two-day special session Friday and Saturday to consider legislation that would allow workers who contract COVID-19 any time in 2020 to receive workers’ compensation benefits. Current law prohibits comp coverage for illnesses and communicable diseases unless the risk of contracting the illness or disease is increased by the nature of employment. House Bill 1002 and identical companion measure Senate File 1002 would declare that COVID-19 is an injury covered by workers’ compensation and that “the nature of all employment for which coverage i...