The Vermont Department of Labor has issued a CRITICAL memorandum regarding changes to the workers’ compensation law that will directly affect the day-to-day adjustment of claims.
The memorandum, dated June 22, 2023, details 5 important changes:
- CALCULATING TEMPORARY PARTIAL DISABILITY BENEFITS
- INCREASE TO THE DEPENDENT BENEFIT AND EXPANSION OF THE DEPENDENT BENEFIT TO TEMPORARY PARTIAL DISABILITY PAYMENTS
- EXPANSION OF THE PREAUTHORIZATION PROCESS
- LIMITATIONS ON WORK SEARCH REQUIREMENTS
- EFFECTIVE DATE
CALCULATING TEMPORARY PARTIAL DISABILITY BENEFITS:
TPD is currently calculated as two-thirds of the difference between the injured employee’s average weekly wage (AWW) before the injury and the amount the employee earns during each week of disability.
Commencing July 1, 2023, the new method requires a carrier to calculate the claimant’s entitlement to temporary total disability (TTD) and subtract the wages actually earned to get a TPD benefit, UNLESS the claimant would receive a greater TPD benefit using the old TPD calculation.
Compare:
(TTD – wages earned)
against
(AWW – wages earned x 0.667)
TPD will be the greater of the two
INCREASE TO THE DEPENDENT BENEFIT AND EXPANSION OF THE DEPENDENT BENEFIT TO TEMPORARY PARTIAL DISABILITY PAYMENTS:
Effective July 1, 2023, the weekly benefit for each dependent child under 21 years of age will increase from $10.00 to $20.00. In addition, the dependent benefit will apply to temporary partial disability benefits as well as temporary total disability benefits
EXPANSION OF THE PREAUTHORIZATION PROCESS:
Effective July 1, 2023, the preauthorization process for medical treatment will be expanded to include services, supplies and durable medical equipment. Specifically, the amended language in 21 V.S.A. §640b reads as follows:
(a) As used in this section, “benefits” means medical treatment and surgical. medical, and nursing services and supplies, including prescription drugs and durable medical equipment.
If a carrier receives a preauthorization request for any of the above, they will have 14 days to authorize or deny, as they do now for medical treatment.
LIMITATIONS ON WORK SEARCH REQUIREMENTS:
Effective July 1, 2023. This statutory change gives carriers guidance on allowable work search requirements.
A claimant who is released to return to work, with or without limitations, but who cannot retum to their former job, may be required to conduct no more than 3 work searches a week.
A carrier may not require a work search if the claimant is already working in another job, or if they have been referred for or are scheduled for a surgical procedure.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The above statutory changes go into effect on July 1, 2023, and should be applied to the work week commencing on Sunday July 2, 2023.
The full text of this bill (as passed by both the House and the Senate) may be found here:
Feel free to contact any member of our Vermont team with any questions!
Attorney James O’Sullivan
617-242-9600 x 275
cell: (603) 498-2241
[email protected]
Attorney Kevin King
617-242-9600 x 236
cell: (978) 337-6023
[email protected]
Attorney Rebecca Gilardi
617-242-9600 x 294
cell: (781) 518-3490
[email protected]
Reported earlier:
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TKCK is a workers’ compensation and civil litigation firm handling cases in the all six New England States (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont) and at the Federal level for Longshore Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act and Defense Base Act claims.
We are approved panel counsel for most major insurers, including AIG, ACE/Chubb, Travelers, Liberty Mutual, Zurich, PMA, Utica, XL Specialty, Starr, The Hartford, CNA, Berkley, Acadia and others. We have longstanding partnerships with most major Third-Party Administrators and Self-Insured Groups and we are designated counsel for many of the largest employers in New England.
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