COVID-19 Legal Update: Missouri

Workers' Compensation Administrative board/ commission

How does the state define an occupational disease?

287.067. Occupational disease defined — repetitive motion, loss of hearing, radiation injury, communicable disease, others. — 1. In this chapter the term "occupational disease" is hereby defined to mean, unless a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context, an identifiable disease arising with or without human fault out of and in the course of the employment. Ordinary diseases of life to which the general public is exposed outside of the employment shall not be compensable, except where the diseases follow as an incident of an occupational disease as defined in this section. The disease need not to have been foreseen or expected but after its contraction it must appear to have had its origin in a risk connected with the employment and to have flowed from that source as a rational consequence.

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

DWC Press Releases

DOI Press Releases

State of Emergency Announcement

Waivers of Laws & Rules

MO Dept. of Health

MO DHSS

Gov. Parson Expands Work Comp Coverage to First Reponders for COVID-19
April 8, 2020

Emergency Rule: DWC Adopts COVID-19 Presumption for First Responders
Jan. 15, 2021

Court Closures & Modified Call

Urgent Notice- Change in Operations - Updated

Is the administrative court system closed or open?

Open. In-person hearings / trials canceled through 5/29/2020; tele-conferences will be help upon request of all parties; business that can be accomplished via e-mail will continue; docket changes 6/5/20.

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

No - order started starting 4/6/20 until 5/3/20; phased re-opening began 5/4/20.

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

Unemployment.

Last Updated: 2/2/2021

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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.