COVID-19 Workers' Compensation Presumption

The Schmidt & Salita Law Team is excited and proud to announce brand new legislation regarding COVID-19 exposure for Minnesota Workers’ Compensation claims. The new bill, which was passed April 7, 2020, provides certain workers in the front-line fight against COVID-19 with a presumption of exposure in their workplace. Attorney Dean Salita—who has committed his career to helping those workers injured or exposed to occupational hazards in the workplace—played a significant role in drafting the bill’s language and negotiating for expanded benefits for Minnesotans on the front line of fighting this virus. This new bill means that specific Minnesota employees will be presumed to have contracted COVID-19 from their workplace and are therefore entitled to worker's compensation benefits by default.

Specific workers who will be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits from a COVID-19 diagnosis as a presumption include:

· Licensed Peace Officers

· Firefighters

· Paramedics

· Nurses and Health Care Workers

· Correctional Officers

· Emergency Medical Technicians

· Health Care Providers employed in a home-care and long-term care setting, and

· Employees providing required childcare to children of first responders and health care workers, as defined by Executive Order.

Those in the specific groups above who tested positive or were diagnosed by a doctor, physician’s assistant, or advanced-practice registered nurse are presumed to have contracted COVID-19 in the course and scope of their employment. This entitlement to benefits can only be rebutted if the employer and insurer affirmatively show that employment was not a direct cause. This is a very high burden that insurers are unlikely to meet.

This does not mean that employees who are not in the listed groups cannot bring a worker's compensation claim as a result of COVID-19 exposure, it simply means they have to prove they contracted it at work. All Minnesotans have a part in the fight against COVID-19, and the Schmidt & Salita Law Team continues to be committed to helping those injured or exposed in the workplace. Leave the burden of fighting for your work compensation benefits to the experienced and passionate attorneys and legal team at Schmidt & Salita Law Team. We know and understand the law. We helped write and negotiate it to help those in the front line. We are very appreciative of them. Dean Salita and the Schmidt & Salita Law Team are very proud to have been a part of this bill that will provide benefits to those who truly deserve our highest accolades at this time. They are heroes. Many thanks to all who have helped in this fight for Minnesota workers. Please call us at 952-473-4530 with any questions or if you have a case.