Committee advances bill to expand definition of “line of duty” death, injury

The Planning and Development Committee today approved legislation that would expand the definition of what constitutes a death or injury “in the line of duty” for Connecticut police and firefighters to include heart attacks, strokes, and pulmonary embolisms that occur within 24 hours of a shift or training that included “non-routine or strenuous activity.”

While the initial bill – HB 5279 – would have allowed the officer or firefighter to be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if they are disabled or pass away from those medical incidents, the legislation was altered following public hearing, limiting the effect a “line of duty” determination can have on workers’ compensation benefits.

The initial bill discussed during public hearing before the Public Safety and Security Committee was supported by unions representing police and firefighters, as well as other first responder associations, but Connecticut’s municipal associations and insurance companies raised concerns about creating a legal presumption that a heart attack or stroke was caused by employment activities, rather than other medical conditions or “lifestyle choices.”

The committee revised the bill to indicate that while a police chief, fire chief, or other such responsible municipal official can declare such a medical incident as a line of duty injury or death, the declaration cannot be used as evidence in a workers’ compensation claim.

“This has been a conversation that occurred after the public hearing and some of the objections and concerns that have existed there,” said Rep. Pat Boyd, D-Pomfret, co-chair of the Public Safety and Security Committee. “We believe we are closer to something that is not objectionable to various parties going forward, but it is an important bill, nonetheless.”

In written testimony, Ed Hawthorne, president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO argued that allowing such disabilities or deaths to be classified as “in the line of duty” would more closely align with federal standards and reflect “a realistic understanding of the delayed onset of symptoms that can follow strenuous activities and high-stress situations these professionals often encounter.”

Despite neutralizing the workers’ compensation aspect of the legislation, Mike Muszynski of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities noted that “the incidents can already be covered under workers’ compensation.”

“Relying on the fundamental aspects of the system, the individual needs to establish a correlation that the illness or injury was related to their employment,” Muszynski wrote. “This occurs with every claim in the workers’ compensation system.”

The bill was unanimously passed by the Public Safety and Security Committee, before being referred by the House of Representatives to the Planning and Development Committee.

However, expanding the definition of a line-of-duty death does potentially confer other benefits under the terms of the bill, including tuition waivers to public higher education institutions.

The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) is required to pay relief to a surviving spouse or children of a police officer in the event of a line of duty death, in the amount of $20,000 plus $100 per week to the guardian of all dependent children. Survivors may also opt into state health plans and can be eligible for claims to the police and firefighter survivors’ benefit fund and survivor pension benefits that police and firefighters pay into. Some municipalities offer property tax abatements for survivors, as well.

The Public Safety and Security Committee also passed another bill that codifies the Fallen Officer Fund, which was allocated $500,000 in the latest budget.

The Fund, under the Connecticut Comptroller’s Office, provides for a lump sum $100,000 payment to survivors of a police officer killed in the line of duty and allows survivors to keep their health coverage for up to five years after the officer’s death.

According to the fiscal analysis, the Fallen Officer Fund has paid out one benefit thus far in 2024. That bill was also passed unanimously by the committee.

The post Committee advances bill to expand definition of “line of duty” death, injury appeared first on Connecticut Inside Investigator .