COVID-19 Legal Update: Massachusetts

Workers' Compensation Administrative board/ commission

How does the state define an occupational disease?

Chapter 1 Section 1.7A ''Personal injury'' includes infectious or contagious diseases if the nature of the employment is such that the hazard of contracting such diseases by an employee is inherent in the employment. ''Personal injury'' shall not include any injury resulting from an employee's purely voluntary participation in any recreational activity, including but not limited to athletic events, parties, and picnics, even though the employer pays some or all of the cost thereof. Personal injuries shall include mental or emotional disabilities only where the predominant contributing cause of such disability is an event or series of events occurring within any employment. If a compensable injury or disease combines with a pre-existing condition, which resulted from an injury or disease not compensable under this chapter, to cause or prolong disability or a need for treatment, the resultant condition shall be compensable only to the extent such compensable injury or disease remains a major but not necessarily predominant cause of disability or need for treatment. No mental or emotional disability arising principally out of a bona fide, personnel action including a transfer, promotion, demotion, or termination except such action which is the intentional infliction of emotional harm shall be deemed to be a personal injury within the meaning of this chapter.

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

DIA will suspend all in-person proceedings and meetings until Friday April 3rd
March 18, 2020

DIA Notice on Submitting Docs to the Work Comp Trust Fund
March 26, 2020

DIA Emergency Rule on Updated Protocols for Dispute Resolution
March 30, 2020

Admin Bulletin: Rates for Service under the WC Act - Telehealth
April 17, 2020

Admin Bulletin: Impartial Examinations - COVID-19 Screenings
April 27, 2020

Admin Bulletin: Electronic Form Filing Required for Specific Forms
May 11, 2020

Enacted Legislation: Provides Additional Support to Those Affected by COVID-19 Through the Unemployement Insurance System
May 26, 2020

DIA Announces Forms 105 and 113 Must be Submitted via Emailed Effective 7/1/20
June 10, 2020

Admin Bulletin: Dispute Resolution Updated During COVID-19
June 23, 2020

DOI Bulletin: Additional Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccines
January 21, 2021

Court Closures & Modified Call

Administrative Bulletin on New Case Protocol

Is the administrative court system closed or open?

Open -in-person proceedings and meeting suspended through 5/18/20.

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

No - order started 3/24/20 to 5/18/20; phased re-opening begins 5/18/20.

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

Unemployment.

Last Updated: 2/1/2021

<< Gallagher Bassett COVID-19 Resource Center
<< Contact us with your COVID-19 Questions

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.