State of Connecticut Workers Compensation Commission

Time 2020-07-13 23:02:40

Web Name: State of Connecticut Workers Compensation Commission

WebSite: http://wcc.state.ct.us

ID:24731

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Limited In-Person Formal and Appellate Hearings effective August 1, 2020[MEMORANDUM NO. 2020-13]Posted Friday, July 10, 2020TO: WCC Commissioners, District Administrators, Claimants, Self-Insureds, Insurance Carriers, Attorneys, Unions, and Advisory Board MembersFROM: Stephen M. Morelli, ChairmanDATE: July 10, 2020RE: Limited In-Person Formal and Appellate Hearings effective August 1, 2020In consultation with the Office of Policy Management and Department of Administrative Services, WCC will begin allowing a limited number of in-person formal and CRB hearings beginning on August 1, 2020.All formal hearings that can be completed through Microsoft Teams will continue to be done as such. If at a commissioner’s discretion a formal hearing cannot be done appropriately through Teams, it will be scheduled to be done in-person.CRB hearings will be done in-person at the discretion of the Chairman with all others continuing to be done telephonically. All parties scheduled for an in-person hearing should arrive promptly, call the appropriate office to announce their arrival and wait outside the office's main entrance until an employee has allowed them to enter. ALL parties must wear face coverings, remain at least 6 feet apart and follow any directions posted or provided by WCC staff.There will be a maximum of one in-person formal and appellate hearing per office, per day, to ensure proper cleaning and sanitizing can be completed. The number of hearing participants will not exceed 33% of the hearing rooms capacity at any time. While WCC realizes these requirements may be burdensome, we hope that parties will respect the steps WCC is taking to ensure the safety of the public and our staff. At this time, all other hearings and services will continue to be done without a party's physical presence. These hearings will remain under the guidelines provided in Memorandum 2020-02, Memorandum 2020-04, and Memorandum 2020-05. WCC forms and all other correspondence should continue to be submitted pursuant to Memorandum 2020-07. Please note that limiting public access to WCC offices is subject to the continuation of the workers' compensation provisions under Governor Lamont's Executive Order No. 7K, which remain in effect.The Commission's 6th District Office in New Britain is scheduled to move to a new address, beginning at the end of this week; office telephone and fax numbers will remain the same. New Britain's new address and contact information effective June 29, 2020 are as follows:Workers' Compensation CommissionSixth District Office24 Washington StreetNew Britain, CT 06051Phone: (860) 827-7180Fax: (860) 827-7913All WCC offices continue to be closed to the public. Hearings are being done telephonically.In order to comply with the social distancing measures made necessary to combat the spread of COVID-19 and the existing measures taken by the Workers’ Compensation Commission to dramatically reduce the need for in person hearings, the Compensation Review Board is now offering the following alternatives for the scheduled June 26, 2020 CRB docket.1. Parties may file a motion to postpone oral argument. As always, we ask the parties to communicate if they are in agreement as to the postponement. Requests to postpone will be generally favored.2. As always, parties may choose to waive oral argument and proceed on the basis of the papers submitted in the prosecution or defense of the scheduled appeal. It will be up to each party to individually decide if this is how they wish to proceed. Stated another way, if one side wishes to waive oral argument, the other side may choose to participate in oral argument. Thus, the legal argument of the party waiving oral argument will be considered on the basis of the papers submitted, and the oral argument of the other party will go forward as stated below.3. Oral argument will be conducted via telephonic conferencing. We will be utilizing procedures that are similar to those used for district office hearings. In order to facilitate the process please email to Jackie Sellars at the Compensation Review Board the telephone number at which you may be reached for the telephone conference. Her email address is Jackie.Sellars@ct.gov. Any questions related to a hearing scheduled to be heard in a District Office should be directed to the District Office.We envision that parties who participate in oral argument should anticipate a conference call at some point during the time period their appeal is slotted to be heard. E.G., if you are scheduled for a 9:00 AM hearing be prepared to participate in a conference call starting at some time between 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM.We know that these are challenging times for all of us. We also know that our ability to accommodate your needs will be dependent on both our levels of staffing and consequently, may be subject to change. We appreciate your patience and understanding.In order to comply with the social distancing measures made necessary to combat the spread of COVID-19 and the existing measures taken by the Workers’ Compensation Commission to dramatically reduce the need for in person hearings, the Compensation Review Board is now offering the following alternatives for the scheduled May 22, 2020 CRB docket.1. Parties may file a motion to postpone oral argument. As always, we ask the parties to communicate if they are in agreement as to the postponement. Requests to postpone will be generally favored.2. As always, parties may choose to waive oral argument and proceed on the basis of the papers submitted in the prosecution or defense of the scheduled appeal. It will be up to each party to individually decide if this is how they wish to proceed. Stated another way, if one side wishes to waive oral argument, the other side may choose to participate in oral argument. Thus, the legal argument of the party waiving oral argument will be considered on the basis of the papers submitted, and the oral argument of the other party will go forward as stated below.3. Oral argument will be conducted via telephonic conferencing. We anticipate utilizing procedures that are similar to those used for district office hearings. In order to facilitate the process please email to Jackie Sellars at the Compensation Review Board the telephone number at which you may be reached for the telephone conference. Her email address is Jackie.Sellars@ct.gov.We envision that parties who participate in oral argument should anticipate a conference call at some point during the time period their appeal is slotted to be heard. E.G., if you are scheduled for a 9:00 AM hearing be prepared to participate in a conference call starting at some time between 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM.We know that these are challenging times for all of us. We also know that our ability to accommodate your needs will be dependent on both our levels of staffing and consequently, may be subject to change. We appreciate your patience and understanding.The Workers' Compensation Commission is encouraging the use of telemedicine in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Providers have been instructed to bill telemedicine visits with the appropriate CMS or CPT identified telemedicine code, utilizing modifier 95 together with place of service 02. Carriers have been advised to reimburse these visits at the fee schedule rate with no reduction (excluding contractual discounts).Until further notice, the Workers' Compensation Commission is instructing that workers' compensation claims billed with place of service 02 shall be reimbursed at the non-facility rate.In order to comply with the social distancing measures made necessary to combat the spread of COVID-19 and the existing measures taken by the Workers' Compensation Commission to dramatically reduce the need for in person hearings, the Compensation Review Board is now offering the following alternatives for the scheduled April 24, 2020 CRB docket.1. Parties may file a motion to postpone oral argument. As always, we ask the parties to communicate if they are in agreement as to the postponement. Requests to postpone will be generally favored.2. As always, parties may choose to waive oral argument and proceed on the basis of the papers submitted in the prosecution or defense of the scheduled appeal. It will be up to each party to individually decide if this is how they wish to proceed. Stated another way, if one side wishes to waive oral argument, the other side may choose to participate in oral argument. Thus, the legal argument of the party waiving oral argument will be considered on the basis of the papers submitted, and the oral argument of the other party will go forward as stated below.3. Oral argument will be conducted via telephonic conferencing. We anticipate utilizing procedures that are similar to those used for district office hearings. In order to facilitate the process please email to Jackie Sellars at the Compensation Review Board the telephone number at which you may be reached for the telephone conference. Her email address is Jackie.Sellars@ct.gov.We envision that parties who participate in oral argument should anticipate a conference call at some point during the time period their appeal is slotted to be heard. E.G., if you are scheduled for a 9:00 AM hearing be prepared to participate in a conference call starting at some time between 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM.We know that these are challenging times for all of us. We also know that our ability to accommodate your needs will be dependent on both our levels of staffing and consequently, may be subject to change. We appreciate your patience and understanding.WCC STAFF REDUCTIONS PER GOVERNOR S DIRECTIVEPosted Tuesday, March 24, 2020WCC had to make significant district staffing reductions due to the directive to only require level 1 (essential) staff to physically report to work effective Tuesday, March 24, 2020, in response to the ongoing Covid-19 health crisis and the Governor s directive to work at home, stay at home which is aimed at slowing the trajectory of the virus. The WCC mission to serve the needs of the people of Connecticut remains intact. There are no reductions in the number of commissioners. Commissioners remain fully dedicated and will continue to conduct hearings telephonically in order to not unnecessarily jeopardize the health of WCC staff and the public. WCC will evaluate as we go and make whatever reasonable adjustments to staff levels as are necessary and possible, to ensure WCC continues to function at the highest level possible during this health crisis. WCC will only be able to continue to function at the highest level possible, with the continued level of outstanding cooperation and patience by claimants and respondents.GOVERNOR LAMONT ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER SUSPENDING WORKERS COMPENSATION DEADLINESPosted Tuesday, March 24, 2020EFFECTIVE MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2020Effective Monday, March 23, 2020, Governor Lamont has suspended non-critical Workers Compensation Commission statutory, regulatory and administrative deadlines.WCC is hopeful these temporary deadline suspensions outlined in the Governor s Executive Order will help to alleviate the many concerns parties have expressed to WCC during this difficult time.All parties are expected to continue to abide as closely as possible to ALL of the deadlines outlined in the Workers Compensation Act, including, but not limited to, Section 31-303. These are extraordinary times, and one of the several purposes of these deadline waivers is to facilitate the transacting of business. WCC is counting on all parties to not take advantage of the executive order to unnecessarily delay the processing and providing of benefits.Executive Order NO. 7K can be found on the Governor s website here.Effective Tuesday, March 24, 2020, parties to any telephone hearing are required to either:1. Contact the other party and initiate the conference call to the district office; or2. The day before the hearing, provide the district with a telephone number (direct line preferably) at which you will be available at the time of the hearing.WCC OFFICES CLOSED TO THE PUBLICPosted Wednesday, March 18, 2020EFFECTIVE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020Given newly imposed restrictions limiting access to government offices:No visitors will be allowed to enter a state-leased building unless they are on the approved visitors list. Visitors on this list should be limited to individuals whose physical attendance is necessary.For information on hearings please see the Updated Hearing Policy that was posted below early today, March 18, 2020.ALL Workers' Compensation hearings (including formal hearings and CRB) can only be conducted telephonically. This applies to all parties.The decision to conduct formal hearings, and the logistics as to how formal hearings are conducted telephonically, shall be in the sole discretion of the commissioners.The instructions regarding the procedure for initiating hearings by telephone remains the same as indicated in paragraph 4 of the previous memo dated March 16, 2020.Any hearings which require the physical presence of one or more parties (including, but not limited to, scar evaluations) cannot be accommodated at this time.TEMPORARY EMERGENCY GUIDELINES IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19 OUTBREAKPosted Monday, March 16, 2020In an effort to comply with the COVID-19 public health policy of social distancing, the Workers Compensation Commission will be instituting changes in the hearing process for the foreseeable future. Therefore, beginning today, March 16, 2020, we are directing the following initial changes:Beginning today Monday, March 16, 2020 district offices are directed to contact all parties on the dockets for Tuesday, March 17, 2020 and Wednesday, March 18, 2020 to notify them that hearings are postponed. (Should any parties to any hearing appear in person, the commissioners shall use their discretion on how to proceed).Any postponed cases which are deemed to be emergencies by the commissioners shall be scheduled for Thursday, March 19, 2020 or the morning of Friday, March 20, 2020.THE PURPOSE of these hearing postponements is to: (i) allow time for commissioners to go through the currently docketed hearings in order to determine which of those hearings need to go forward and which may reasonably be deferred; and (ii) allow WCC time, together with IT, to work out the logistics of proceeding with telephonic informal and pre-formal hearings. (We are advised by IT that the district phone systems may not be adequately equipped for the volume of conference calls we anticipate.)While WCC will make all efforts to conduct hearings by telephone, this obviously is less than ideal and has limitations. Although we will attempt to conduct as many telephone hearings as possible, we cannot docket as many cases as we would do in a normal docket. Therefore, to reduce the volume of hearings WCC is taking these steps:Effective immediately, the three-day rule for cancellation of hearings is suspended. Reports may be made by phone, up to the time of the hearing.Continuances for cause will be liberally granted, with due consideration of prejudice to affected parties.Subject to commissioner discretion, out-of-state stipulation procedures may be used for in-state claimants.Until further notice, there shall be no double docketing going forward in any time slots.Commissioners and staff are expected to prioritize the scheduling of hearings to ensure that those hearings of the highest priority are docketed. Priority hearings shall include, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, hearings where benefits are not being paid (including those where a Form 43 has been filed denying compensability), medical treatment is being denied and is deemed urgent, Form 36 hearings, and hearings resulting from the receipt of Commissioners Examinations if the parties indicate the CME did not resolve the issue.The obligation of a party requesting a hearing to first speak with the opposing party will be strictly enforced. The purpose of this is to determine if the issue can be resolved or, if not, whether a hearing at this time is truly necessary. As a guide, when deciding if a hearing needs to go forward, ask yourself if the issue is sufficiently important that you would risk exposure of yourself or your family by appearing in person.If for the purposes of the hearing, written records or reports are going to be relied upon, those documents should be provided by fax to the district in advance of the hearing. Parties should only send those documents that are essential and relevant to the issue in dispute.Job searches are waived from Monday, March 16, 2020, until further notice.4. HEARINGS BY TELEPHONE EFFECTIVE THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2020Beginning Thursday, March 19, 2020, WC hearings will be done by telephone unless determined otherwise by the commissioner. This policy shall remain in place until further notice. Conference calls shall be initiated by staff and/or commissioners at the noticed hearing times.Given system limitations, to the extent parties can initiate conference calls themselves it would be helpful and appreciated. If at the time of the hearing WCC has not received a call, commissioners will initiate the call.(Should any parties to any hearing appear in person, the commissioners shall use their discretion on how to proceed. A suggestion would be, when thought necessary, to have the parties directed to a conference room where they can then be conferenced into the hearing room telephonically.)Unless directed otherwise by commissioners, no apportionment hearings (unless the 299b party is refusing to pay benefits) shall be scheduled until further notice. For the 8th District Commissioner Schoolcraft will direct staff as to scheduling of asbestos hearings.Only formal hearings of high priority should be scheduled until further notice. Formal hearings WILL NOT be done telephonically unless specifically directed by a commissioner. Commissioners will work with staff to determine which formal hearings are priority hearings.The following notice has been sent to the parties scheduled for the Compensation Review Board hearings that are to be held on Friday, March 27, 2020:In order to comply with the social distancing measures made necessary to combat the spread of COVID-19 and the existing measures taken by the Workers Compensation Commission to dramatically reduce the need for in person hearings, the Compensation Review Board is now offering the following alternatives for the scheduled March 27, 2020 CRB docket.1. Parties may file a motion to postpone oral argument. As always we ask the parties to communicate if they are in agreement as to the postponement. Requests to postpone will be generally favored.2. As always, parties may choose to waive oral argument and proceed on the basis of the papers submitted in the prosecution or defense of the scheduled appeal. It will be up to each party to individually decide if this is how they wish to proceed. Stated another way, if one side wishes to waive oral argument, the other side may choose to participate in oral argument. Thus, the legal argument of the party waiving oral argument will be considered on the basis of the papers submitted, and the oral argument of the other party will go forward as stated below.3. Oral argument will be conducted via telephonic conferencing. We anticipate utilizing procedures similar to those that will be used for district office hearings. As was noted in the publication on the agency website dated March 16, 2020 re TEMPORARY EMERGENCY GUIDELINES IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19 OUTBREAK, we are still working out some of the logistics that will enable us to conduct meaningful hearings via a different technology.We envision that parties who participate in oral argument should anticipate a conference call at some point during the time period their appeal is slotted to be heard. E.G., if you are scheduled for a 9:00 AM hearing be prepared to participate in a conference call starting at some time between 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM.We know that these are challenging times for all of us. We also know that our ability to accommodate your needs will be dependent on both our levels of staffing and consequently, may be subject to change. We appreciate your patience and understanding.RETAIN-CT Project LaunchedIn October, the RETAIN-CT project was launched as a pilot in the Greater Hartford region. RETAIN is an early return-to-work initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Labor to prevent long-term disability.In Connecticut, the RETAIN-CT study is being piloted with Workers Compensation claimants of The Hartford Insurance Group with musculoskeletal conditions, and the work involves elements of provider training with special billing codes to reimburse for proactive return-to-work communication, early return-to-work coordination, and use of employment specialists from local workforce development boards. Major partners on the pilot project include the CT Department of Labor, UConn Health, The Hartford Insurance Group, and Capital Workforce Partners.To learn more about the RETAIN-CT study, or if you would like to register as a RETAIN-CT provider, visit www.retainct.com.Welcome to the State of Connecticut Workers Compensation Commission WebsiteThe Workers Compensation Commission (WCC) administers the workers compensation laws of the State of Connecticut with the ultimate goal of ensuring that workers injured on the job receive prompt payment of lost work time benefits and attendant medical expenses. To this end, the Commission facilitates voluntary agreements, adjudicates disputes, makes findings and awards, hears and rules on appeals, and closes out cases through full and final stipulated settlements.Injured At Work?Here s what to do, if you have a work-related injury or illness.You may also want to download ourInformation Packet (PDF file: 1.7 MB), which contains comprehensive information and the 30C Form you can use to make an official claim for workers compensation benefits.What s Available Online?Our website is comprised of more than 4,800 web pages and downloadable documents, including News of Connecticut s workers compensation system, Memorandums issued by the Workers Compensation Commission Chairman that affect the daily operation of the workers compensation system, and an RSS Newsfeed to which you can subscribe as a free and convenient way to keep abreast of workers compensation-related updates.Agency Forms are available in Portable Document Format (PDF) and can be filled out online and printed. Our online forms also have the capability to save any data you type into them all you need in order to use this extended functionality is the free and easy-to-use Adobe Reader software program (version 7 or 8).Publications are also available in Portable Document Format (PDF), including Annual Reports, Benefit Rate Tables, informational Handbooks, Statute Books, and more!Additional resources include a Glossary of workers compensation terminology and Links to other relevant web resources.Statutes and RegulationsThe Workers Compensation Act (also known as Chapter 568 of the Connecticut General Statutes) was first enacted in 1913. There have been numerous changes to the Act since that time, but the main premise of the Act has always been to provide wage replacement and other benefits, as well as medical treatment, for those employees who have been injured, disabled, or killed while performing their jobs.The Act also sets up an administrative system to provide for workers compensation benefits by creating the Workers Compensation Commission as the agency to administer the provisions of the Act. Part of implementing those statutes includes issuing Regulations that affect the operation of various aspects of the workers compensation system.Related Statutes from other chapters of the Connecticut General Statutes also play a part in some workers compensation cases.Hearings and AppealsThe Commission holds hearings to resolve disputes in workers compensation cases in the eight District Offices located throughout Connecticut.The Commission s Compensation Review Board (CRB) hears and rules on appeals from hearings initially held in the Districts. A new feature we are pleased to make available online is a collection of CRB Calendars that you can view and print to follow the Board s upcoming hearing activities.We also publish the Opinions that are issued from appeals Opinions from October 1, 1994 to the present are available on our site. Annotations of all CRB Opinions from 1980 to the present are also available as a research aid.Additional Commission ServicesIn addition to its quasi-judicial duties, the Commission performs a number of related duties. Education Services provides information about the workers compensation system through this website, our toll-free telephone information service, publications, and more.Both injured workers and employers may benefit from the offerings of Rehabilitation Services, which assists eligible injured workers to return to the state s workforce.Our Safety Health Services unit assists employers with implementation of the workers compensation regulations regarding Establishment and Administration of Safety and Health Committees at Work Sites. The Commission s Statistical Division measures and monitors the Commission s caseload and performance, and also researches insurance coverage and injury and claims data.Agendas are posted for public meetings of the Workers Compensation Advisory Board and Workers Compensation Commissioners.LicensingThe Commission is also charged with administration of several types of licensing. The first of these is the granting to qualifying employers in the state the right to operate an approved Medical Care Plan (sometimes called a PPO) to provide medical treatment for their employees work-related injuries and illnesses.Second, the Commission reviews and approves applications for Self-Insurance plans in which employers insure their state-mandated workers compensation liabilities themselves, rather than through purchasing insurance coverage from commercial insurance carriers.Need help finding something?In addition to the links on this page, you can find specific pages on our site using either the Index (which lists pages alphabetically) or the Site Map (which shows pages categorized by general topic area).You may also wish to Search the site if you need to narrow your search, we have an Advanced Search function available.Have a Suggestion?It is an honor to serve you, our online customers if you have an idea for information to be included on our site or for a feature that would make the site more useful, feel free tosend us a suggestion by email.The Workers Compensation Commission will be closed on the following State of Connecticut holidays in 2020:January 1 - New Year s DayJanuary 20 - Martin Luther King Jr. DayFebruary 12 - Lincoln s BirthdayFebruary 17 - Washington s BirthdayApril 10 - Good FridayMay 25 - Memorial DayJuly 3 - Independence DaySeptember 7 - Labor DayOctober 12 - Columbus DayNovember 11 - Veterans DayNovember 26 - Thanksgiving DayDecember 25 - Christmas DayInclement Weather PolicyInclement Weather PolicyRead for information regarding delayed openings and early closings of Workers Compensation Commission offices due to inclement weather and resulting traffic conditions.

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