---
title: "COVID-19 Legal Update: Alaska"
---

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# COVID-19 Legal Update: Alaska

## COVID-19 Legal Update: Alaska

[<<Back to Regulatory Map](https://links.gallagherbassett.com/covid-19-legal-update-map?hsLang=en-us)

### Workers' Compensation Administrative board/ commission

[Workforce Development](https://labor.alaska.gov/wc/)

 

### How does the state define an occupational disease?

AS 23.30.395. (24) "injury" means accidental injury or death arising out of and in the course of employment, and an occupational disease or infection that arises naturally out of the employment or that naturally or unavoidably results from an accidental injury; "injury" includes breakage or damage to eyeglasses, hearing aids, dentures, or any prosthetic devices that function as part of the body and further includes an injury caused by the wilful act of a third person directed against an employee because of the employment.

 

### COVid-19 Specific Laws, agency declarations/ press releases, or enacted regulation?

[All Health Mandates Issued in Alaska](https://covid19.alaska.gov/health-mandates/)

[DWC Bulletin 20-02 : Suspended out of state travel to SIME Drs ](https://labor.alaska.gov/wc/bulletins/20-02.pdf)  
      February 20, 2020

[DWC Bulletin 20-03: Guidance for hearings](https://labor.alaska.gov/wc/bulletins/20-03.pdf)   
     March 20, 2020

[DOI Announces Emergency Regulations](https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/11/Pub/INS_NoticeofEmergencyRegs_2020.03.pdf)   
     March 23, 2020

[AK Legislature passes bill to ease unemployment-aid; Gov. expected to sign](https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2020/03/24/alaska-legislature-approves-unemployment-aid-bill-gov-dunleavy-expected-to-sign/)   
     March 23, 2020

[Enacted Legislation: Creates COVID-19 Presumption for First Responders & Health Care Workers](http://www.akleg.gov/basis/Bill/Detail/31?Root=sb%20241)  
     April 10, 2020

[DWC Bulletin 20-05: Guidance of Presumption for First Responders & Health Care Workers](https://labor.alaska.gov/wc/bulletins/20-05.pdf)  
     April 10, 2020

[DWC Bulletin 20-04 (amended): Notice of Enforcement Suspensions from March 31 to June 30](https://labor.alaska.gov/wc/bulletins/20-04.pdf)  
     May 12, 2020

[DOI Advisory Alert: Business Interruption Insurance](https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/11/Pub/INS_ConsumerAdvisory_05.2020.pdf)  
     May 13, 2020

[DOI Regulatory Order Regarding COVID-19 Vaccinations and Treatment](https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/11/Pub/R21-03.pdf)  
     January 19, 2021

 

### Court Closures & Modified Call

[COVID-19 Bulletin](https://labor.alaska.gov/wc/bulletins/20-03.pdf)

 

### Is the administrative court system closed or open?

Open - Option for telephonic hearing or reschedule.

 

### Does this state have a shelter-in-place in order?

No - [order](https://gov.alaska.gov/home/covid19-healthmandates/) was 3/28/20 to 4/24/20; [phased in](https://covid19.alaska.gov/health-mandates/) opening now.

 

### ANY STATE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE ON DISABILITY, UNEMPLOYMENT, OR HEALTH BENEFITS FOR COVID-19? 

[Unemployment](https://labor.alaska.gov/unemployment/COVID-19.htm)

 

Last Updated: 2/1/2021

|          | [<< Gallagher Bassett COVID-19 Resource Center](https://links.gallagherbassett.com/en-us/covid-19-resource-center?hsLang=en-us) [<< Contact us with your COVID-19 Questions](http://news.gallagherbassett.com/breakingnews-covid-19) This document compiles certain state laws and websites relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic. State guidance and other government instruction have changed frequently. We thus may update this document over time. Please do not hesitate to contact your account manager, resolution manager, or your other preferred contact at Gallagher Bassett with any questions. Although we have gathered information relevant to COVID-19 and its impact on workers' compensation claims and your businesses, this is not legal advice, it does not include all pertinent information, nor should it be the basis for legal, claim, benefit, safety, or human resource-related decisions. If you would like guidance on legal issues arising from COVID-19, including whether a COVID-19 related claim is compensable under a specific state’s laws, please seek advice from legal counsel with expertise in the relevant subject areas and state laws. For Gallagher Bassett clients, if you have reported a workers’ compensation claim, then your resolution manager can assist. A Further Note on the Statutes, Definitions, Cases, and Websites Cited in this Document. State law controls if a worker is entitled or not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Each state can approach this question differently, and the relevant statutes, standards of proof, regulating agencies, court precedent, and other aspects of a workers’ compensation claim vary between jurisdictions. As a general principle, state workers’ compensation laws provide medical and wage loss benefits to workers who suffer bodily injury due to an accident, or bodily injury due to an occupational disease. The relevant bodily injury must arise out of and occur in the course of employment. This document primarily compiles state definitions of “occupational disease.” With respect to diseases for which the employee may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, the disease typically must arise from particular conditions of employment that make contracting the disease more likely than in the general population, or otherwise there must be a sufficient connection between a disease and workplace. Please consult the relevant state’s workers’ compensation act for the specific language applicable to an “occupational disease” claim. |          |
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