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December
28, 2011
MICHIGAN AMENDS
WORKER'S DISABILITY
COMPENSATION =
ACT
By: Carly =
;Osadetz
On December 19, 2011, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder
signed into law House Bill 5002, which significantly amends the
Worker's Disability Compensation Act and imposes more rigorous
standards on employees seeking benefits. The law takes effect
immediately and applies to claims arising from injuries occurring
after December 19, 2011. The following are some key changes inclu=
ded
in the bill:
Injuries must be medically
distinguishable. In order to qualify
for worker's compensation, an employee will now need to show that=
his
or her injuries are "medically distinguishable" from
pre-existing conditions. This standard requires a showing that an
employee's work caused, contributed to, or aggravated a pathology
that is medically distinguishable from a pathology that existed p=
rior
to the injury.
Mental disabilities must arise =
out
of actual events and an employee's perception must be grounded in
fact or reality. Mental disabilities
are compensable only if the employee claiming a mental disability
proves that it arose out of actual events of employment, and that=
his
or her perception of the actual events is reasonably grounded in =
fact
or reality.
"Wage earning capacity&quo=
t;
redefined. "Wage earning capacity,&q=
uot;
as used to determine whether an employee is disabled for purposes=
of
wage loss benefits, is now defined to include wages that an emplo=
yee
is capable of earning at a job reasonably available to that emplo=
yee,
whether or not wages are actually earned.
Employee must seek reasonably
available work. The law places an
affirmative duty on an employee to seek work reasonably available=
to
that employee when he or she seeks wage loss benefits. Under this
provision, a good-faith job search will be considered to determine
whether jobs are reasonably available.
Employee terminated from reason=
able
employment not entitled to wage loss benefits.
If an employee is terminated from reasonable employment for fault=
of
the employee, the employee is considered to have voluntarily remo=
ved
himself or herself from the work force and is not entitled to any
wage loss benefits.
Additional changes that may affect how employers res=
pond
to claims are also included in the amended law. A copy of the upd=
ated
Worker's Disability Compensation Act is available on the Michigan
Legislature's website at:
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/docu=
ments/2011-2012/billconcurred/House/pdf/2011-HCB-5002.pdf
Employers with questions may contact Carly Osadetz at
(313) 965-8276, cosadetz@clarkhill.com,
or any of Clark Hill's Labor and Employment Law attorneys.
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