Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Legislators looking to expand PTSD benefits to more emergency responders

  • Health
  • by Keith M. Phaneuf
  • November 26, 2019
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

After striking a landmark compromise this spring on post-traumatic stress disorder benefits for police and firefighters, lawmakers will consider expanding projections next year to cover more emergency personnel.

Democratic Sens. Cathy Osten of Sprague and Julie Kushner of Danbury announced they would introduce legislation in the regular 2020 General Assembly session — which begins Feb. 5 — to expand workers’ compensation coverage for emergency medical personnel, dispatchers and state prison guards.

And while Osten and Kushner say their proposal is a natural extension of vital-and-long-overdue protection recently provided to police and firefighters, others say Connecticut could be moving too fast — at the public’s expense.

“I think it was always just a matter of time until we added EMS workers, dispatchers and prison guards to the list of people who need and deserve workers’ comp coverage for post-traumatic stress events,” said Osten, who co-chairs the Appropriations Committee and is a former state correction officer supervisor.

“The old arguments from some town officials and fiscally conservative Republicans that we just can’t do this because it’s too expensive – those arguments don’t hold water anymore, especially the way workers’ comp costs have dropped so dramatically in Connecticut over the past several years,” Osten added.

Kushner, is co-chairwoman of the Labor and Public Employees Committee, which conducted a hearing last Friday on post-traumatic stress injuries.

this is a picture of Sen. Cathy Osten

CTMirror.org file photo

Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague

“Clearly there is a need to extend PTSI benefits to a wider range of first responders than the police officers and firefighters who we covered earlier this year,” she said. “The message that came through loud and clear [Friday] is that EMS workers and dispatchers are also on the front lines of public safety, as are our correctional officers. Their stories were just as horrific and moving as the ones we have heard from police officers and firefighters.”

Legislators, municipal leaders and labor advocates battled for six years over whether to expand workers’ compensation benefits for police and firefighters before striking a compromise last May.

The impetus for the debate was the December 2012 shooting deaths of 26 children and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

At issue was whether the system should provide lost wages only for those first responders who are the direct victims of violence, or whether those who witness it in gory detail also could face mental illnesses so severe they could not return to work.

Connecticut health care providers who debated this issue over the past six years have testified before lawmakers that post traumatic stress is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop anywhere from immediately after an event to months or years later and can create debilitating psychological trauma.

Municipal leaders initially expressed fears that if modifications weren’t crafted properly, it could become a huge fiscal burden on local property taxpayers.

The compromise provided up to one year of workers’ comp coverage for police and firefighters who suffered from PTSD — without any physical injury — provided it stemmed from at least one of six qualifying events:

  • Viewing a deceased minor.
  • Witnessing the death of a person.
  • Witnessing an injury that causes the death of a person shortly thereafter.
  • Treating an injured person who dies shortly thereafter.
  • Carrying an injured person who dies shortly thereafter.
  • And witnessing an incident that causes a person to lose a body part, to suffer a loss of body function, or that results in permanent disfigurement.

Municipal leaders initially expressed fears that if modifications weren’t crafted properly, it could become a huge fiscal burden on local property taxpayers.

Osten said the bill she would help craft next year likely would also tie expanded workers’ compensation coverage for the next group of workers to similar trigger events.

Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury

Osten and Kushner’s announcement drew praise from the largest state employee union, Council 4 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents more than 4,000 correction officers.

Council 4 spokesman Larry Dorman noted prison guards had been eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits for PTSD — regardless of physical injuries — until major revisions adopted in the mid-1990s during then-Gov. John G. Rowland’s administration.

“For us this is a 20-plus-year fight for justice,” Dorman said.

Rudy Demiraj, who has served 21 years as a correction officer in a maximum-security state prison in Cheshire, described for the labor committee how two Cheshire inmates stabbed an officer three times in the neck with a ballpoint pen, barely missing his carotid artery. 

The attack left mental scars that lasted long after the physical wound had healed, Demiraj testified.

“I can tell you from firsthand experience that corrections is one of the most stressful beats that anyone can walk,” he said.

But others said Osten and Kushner’s proposal may be premature.

Joy Avallone, counsel for the Insurance Association of Connecticut, noted that the legislature enacted a new Paid Family and Medical Leave program this year that provides up to 12 weeks of paid leave.

Given that, and the steps taken to expand workers’ compensation coverage for police and firefighters, Avallone testified, “we believe it is necessary to let the dust settle in order to properly evaluate the impact of the recent expansion and whether a need for further expansion of coverage exists.”

The Connecticut Council of Small Towns also expressed concerns that the legislature could be moving too quickly if a second expansion is adopted next year.

“We really need to take a step back and see how this first step has impacted our workers’ compensation costs,” said the council’s executive director, Betsy Gara.

The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, which played a role in negotiating the compromise bill adopted last May, declined to comment Monday.

The state Office of Policy and Management, which oversees both budgetary matters and labor relations, also took a cautious approach.

“We look forward to seeing the proposed legislation,” OPM spokesman Chris McClure said, “and to the ensuing discussion of the state and local impact.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keith M. Phaneuf A winner of numerous journalism awards, Keith Phaneuf has been CT Mirror’s state finances reporter since it launched in 2010. The former State Capitol bureau chief for The Journal Inquirer of Manchester, Keith has spent most of 31 years as a reporter specializing in state government finances, analyzing such topics as income tax equity, waste in government and the complex funding systems behind Connecticut’s transportation and social services networks. A former contributing writer to The New York Times, Keith is a graduate of and a former journalism instructor at the University of Connecticut.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Few tenants facing eviction have an attorney. Top lawmakers are poised to change that.
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

Legislation that would provide tenants facing eviction the "right to counsel" is a top priority for legislative leaders.

With billions in federal relief on the way to CT, legislators assert their role in deciding how to spend it
by Keith M. Phaneuf and Mark Pazniokas

With an unusual bill, state legislators are reminding Gov. Ned Lamont they have significant role in disbursing federal coronavirus relief.

How does the public option bill differ from Gov. Ned Lamont’s health care plan? Here’s a look at the two proposals.
by Jenna Carlesso

With the rising cost of care a central issue this legislative session, lawmakers and Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration have each moved ahead with their own plans aimed at driving down prices.

Rep. Patricia Billie Miller wins vacant Senate seat
by Mark Pazniokas

Rep. Patricia Billie Miller, D-Stamford, won a special election to the state Senate.

CT hasn’t started collecting new payroll tax from state workers
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Connecticut established a new payroll tax surcharge on Jan. 1 but still isn't deducting it from state workers' paychecks.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion The Board of Regents’ changes must not shortchange its students or faculty
by Carrie Andreoletti, PhD

As a university professor and a lifespan developmental psychologist, I tend to approach my work from a developmental perspective. This means I aim to foster a lifelong love of learning and to help others find a sense of meaning and purpose, as well as confidence in their ability to reach their goals. My approach to higher education is shaped by my desire to provide the best possible education for my students. This is why the recent Board of Regents’ proposed changes at the four state universities have me worried.

Opinion How to close schooling opportunity gaps created by the pandemic
by Carol Gale

We ask school district leaders to trust your public servants whose daily work life involves assessing student needs and planning or modifying instruction to meet those needs. Listen to their voices, as we have, and allocate precious resources on interventions that will offer increased opportunities for Hartford students to succeed.

Opinion A new guide for schools: How to work with families this spring
by Michael Arrington and Erika Haynes

With months of remote and hybrid learning to go, families and educators continue to adapt and innovate to meet the moment. Since August, we’ve spoken with hundreds of parents, caregivers, family support groups, educators, and students across Connecticut and the country about things things that have worked --strategies, big and small, that have made this time more manageable and helped children learn and stay connected with peers.

Opinion Housing is a human right
by Tenaya Taylor

Nonprofit Accountability Group is a queer- and trans-led group based in Hartford that is dedicated to creating racial equity by directing resources to Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and disabled children and families. NAG was founded in 2020 as an organization with a transformative approach to implementing nonprofit accountability by creating relationships within the community, nonprofits, and their funders.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO