COVID-19 Legal Update: Kentucky

Workers' Compensation Administrative board/ commission

How does the state define an occupational disease?

KRS 342.0011(3), an occupational disease: shall be deemed to arise out of the employment if there is apparent to the rational mind, upon consideration of all the circumstances, a causal connection between the conditions under which the work is performed and the occupational disease, and which can be seen to have followed as a natural incident to the work as a result of the exposure occasioned by the nature of the employment and which can be fairly traced to the employment as a proximate cause. The occupational disease shall be incidental to the character of the business and not independent of the relationship of employer and employee. An occupational disease need not have been foreseen or expected but, after its contraction, it must appear to be related to a risk connected with the employment and to have flowed from that source as a rational consequence. Medical causation must be proved to a reasonable.

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

DWC Operations
March 20, 2020

In person hearing cancelled
March 12. 2020

Extension of In person hearing cancellations
April 1, 2020

DOI Bulletin to Insurers on Complying with Regulatory Requirements during COVID-19 Emergency
April 7, 2020

Executive Order Expanding Work Comp Coverage to First Responders & Other Groups for COVID-19
April 9, 2020

DWC Administrative Order on Electronic Signatures and Notorization
April 10, 2020

DWC Guidance on TTD from Executive Order dated 4/9/20
April 15, 2020

DWC Memo on Videoconference Proceedings
April 16, 2020

DWC Extension of Cancellation of In-Person Proceedings
May 6, 2020

DWC Memo on Videoconference Proceedings
June 10, 2020

DWC Administrative Order on Effective Date of Medical Treatment
June 24, 2020

KY Gov. Beshear Signs House Joint Resolution 1 - Removing COVID-19 Work Comp Presumption
Sept. 7, 2021

Court Closures & Modified Call

In-Person Closure Information

Memorandum on Video Conferencing

Is the administrative court system closed or open?

Open.

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

Yes - order started 3/26/20 until further notice; phased re-opening began 5/11/20.

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

Executive Order Relaxing Requirements of Unemployment.

Last Updated: 9/10/2021

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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.