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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | June 6, 2019 12:03 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Martina A. White |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Updating the Workers' Compensation Act |
| In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that will update Section 307 (Death Benefits) of the Workers’ Compensation Act to repeal unconstitutional findings and correct antiquated provisions. Under current law, the Workers’ Compensation Board can terminate compensation payable to a widow or widower if it is found that they are cohabitating with a person they are in a relationship with, but unmarried. I do not believe that a widow or widower’s financial stability should be intimidated by the living situations and relationships he or she chooses to enter. This legislation will remove this criteria from the Board’s consideration of eligibility. In addition, the restrictive eligibility criteria for widowers as compared to widows was held unconstitutional in Oknefski v. Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Bd. (1981). This legislation will also remedy this unconstitutional finding by removing that restrictive eligibility criteria for widowers. Please join me in supporting this important piece of legislation. |
Introduced as HB2057