Proposal to cap benefits of permanently disabled workers advances

A bill that would cap benefits for workers who are permanently disabled by an on- the- job injury cleared a House committee on Tuesday.

House Bill 1586 would end such payments under Arkansas’ workers’ compensation program after 450 weeks — about eight years and eight months. It would impose the same cap on benefits for the survivor of those killed on the job.

State law requires employers to provide the benefits themselves or through insurance policies.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. John Payton, R- Wilburn, told the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee that the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce supports the legislation as part of a plan that includes eliminating the state’s Death and Permanent Total Disability Fund, which pays claim amounts exceeding $ 200,000, in 2019.

When legislators passed a law during a special session last year to eliminate the fund, it was expected that they would impose the 450- week cap during this year’s session, Payton said.

“Leaving [ disabled employees or employees’ survivors] on workers’ comp for eternity is just not possible without our insurance rates going through the roof,” Payton said.

Guy Wade, a Little Rock attorney who handles workers’ compensation cases, said that, in many cases, the cap won’t hurt workers because they will be eligible for more money from the federal Social Security Disability Benefits program.

That’s because the workers’ compensation benefits that an employee receives offsets the amount of federal benefits for which the worker is eligible.

The committee recommended approval of the bill in a divided voice vote.

Jessica Akers Hughes, secretarytreasurer for the Arkansas AFL- CIO, said the bill would hurt injured workers who haven’t been employed long enough to qualify for the federal benefits.

The eligibility criteria and application process differs for the state and federal programs, she said.

Rep. Stephen Magie, D- Conway, said he also worries about workers who might slip through the cracks.

“The biggest concern I have about it is what happens to that young man or young woman who has not paid in enough to qualify for Social Security benefits,” he said.