Labor & Employment (Workers' Compensation)

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 342 to establish the Department of Workers' Claims to be administratively attached to the Office of the Governor; amend KRS 342.122 to provide that the combined budgets of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, Workers' Compensation Nominating Committee, Department of Workplace Standards, and the proportional support for general administration and approved indirect cost allocation to the Education and Labor Cabinet, shall not exceed 75% of the total combined budget submitted by the Workers’ Compensation Funding Commission and that the Workers’ Compensation Funding Commission, the Department of Workers’ Claims, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, the Workers’ Compensation Nominating Committee, the Department of Workplace Standards, excluding the Division of Wages and Hours contained within the Department of Workplace Standards, and the Education and Labor Cabinet, shall each submit a budget which shall be combined by the Workers’ Compensation Funding Commission and reflected in the enacted budget of the Commonwealth; amend KRS 342.228 to require the commissioner of the Department of Workers' Claims to have specified knowledge and experience in the areas of public administration, administrative law, and workers' compensation by having a minimum of 8 years of legal practice experience in the area of workers' compensation; amend KRS 342.230 to authorize the commissioner to fill all positions in the Department for Workers' Claims with KRS Chapter 18A employees; amend KRS 151B.015 to remove the Department of Workers' Claims from the Education and Labor Cabinet; amend various other sections to conform; provide that all records, equipment, staff, budgets, and unexpended funds associated with the Department of Workers' Claims shall be transferred as part of the reorganization; provide that all administrative regulations, decisions, and actions of the department that have not been repealed or rescinded shall continue in effect after the effective date of the Act, unless and until they are amended, repealed, or rescinded by the department after the effective date of this Act; EMERGENCY.

Amend KRS 342.260 to include a written notice of rejection or withdrawal of that rejection within the Insurance Coverage Look-up database; amend KRS 342.395 to require the commissioner of the Department of Workers' Claims to provide an online portal through which as employee's rejection or withdrawal may be electronically submitted to the department.

Amend KRS 342.0011, relating to workers' compensation, to expand the definition of "injury" to include psychological injuries for police officers, firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, front-line staff members, or members of the National Guard; create a new section of KRS Chapter 342 to establish when psychological injuries are valid workers' compensation claims when not a direct result of a physical injury.

Amend KRS 342.610 to remove the presumption that the use of an illegal substance prior to an accident caused the injury; provide that the use of an illegal substance shall be the proximate cause of the injury.

Amend KRS 61.621 to allow a member of a state-administered retirement system who works in a nonhazardous position that could be certified as a hazardous position and who receives a duty-related injury to be eligible for the same minimum retirement benefit provided to members who receive a hazardous disability retirement; amend KRS 61.702 to allow Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS) members working in a nonhazardous position that could be certified as a hazardous position who receive a duty-related injury to receive the same health benefit provided to members who receive a hazardous disability retirement; amend KRS 78.5536 to allow County Employees Retirement System (CERS) members working in a nonhazardous position that could be certified as a hazardous position who receive a duty-related injury to receive the same health benefit provided to members who receive a hazardous disability retirement; allow certain persons whose last day of paid employment was on or after January 1, 2022, but prior to the effective date of the Act to apply for benefits; RETROACTIVE.

Amend KRS 342.610 to exclude certain levels of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in the blood from the presumption that an injury was caused by the introduction of certain substances into the employee's body.