Bill Would Increase PPD, Death Benefits

An Alaska lawmaker is proposing to increase permanent partial disability benefits by more than 44%. House Bill 38, by Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, would raise to $255,854 from $177,000 the amount used to calculate PPD benefits owed to injured workers. The actual amount owed is calculated by multiplying this figure by the worker’s percentage of permanent impairment. The bill would also increase the maximum death benefit owed to dependents in cases with no widow or widower, and no child or children, to the amount payable for a permanent partial disability without any multiplier....