The Minnesota House today approved legislation to ensure that first responders and health care workers can receive workers’ compensation benefits in the event they contract COVID-19 on the job. As a result, firefighters, EMT personnel, nurses, police officers, health care professionals, and home health care workers -- and their families -- can continue receiving a paycheck, health care, and other benefits.
“Making it easier for our first responders and health care workers to access workers’ comp benefits during this unprecedented public health crisis is the right thing to do,” said Rep. Jeanne Poppe (DFL-Austin). “I’m also pleased that Minnesotans who serve as volunteers on our ambulance crews are included and eligible if they get sick.”
Specifically, the bill creates a legal standard that makes it easier for first responders and heath care workers to qualify for workers’ comp when they contract COVID-19. Instead of being required to prove that they contracted COVID-19 during the course of their employment, these first responders would only be required to show that they have tested positive or been diagnosed with COVID-19. The bill creates a presumption that these workers have an "occupational disease" and are thus eligible for workers comp.