With the phased lifting of the stay at home order and the ensuing return to business and work, questions about employer and employee rights have begun to surface in increasing numbers. The problem is, all too often the speed, breadth, and impact of the COVID-19 outbreak has outpaced the ability to predict or even respond to the myriad legal questions raised as a result of this pandemic. For employees who contract COVID-19 at work, there is protection in the form of payments for medical bills and lost wages under our state workers’ compensation laws and between the state and federal government. Many employees will have the right to increased benefits for unemployment. Learn more...

Employees who contract COVID-19 (Coronavirus) as a result of their work exposure, are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits in the form of payment for lost wages, payment or reimbursement for medical expenses and job protection. Benefits include payment for wage loss, payment for all related medical treatment (without CoPays), and for employers who have five or more employees, there is an 18 month right to reinstatement. In addition, dependent family members may have a right to payments in the event of a COVID-19 death, caused by a work exposure. Read more about workers' compensation coverage for Covid-19 in New Hampshire.

In any worker’s compensation claim, the employee is required to show that their injury or illness arose as a result of, and in the course of their work. While that may seem obvious to some, we anticipate many people making these claims will be initially denied by the insurance companies. These folks will need counsel and help if they want to appeal and fight those denials.

Thanks to New Hampshire's no fault workers’ compensation system, many COVID-19 infected employees will find available coverage under the workers’ compensation statutes while limiting the effect of losses on employers.

COVID-19 is an “occupational disease“ that will be deemed work related for most healthcare workers and first responders. In determining eligibility, the question will be whether the worker contracted Coronavirus “due to causes and conditions characteristic of a peculiar to the particular trade, occupation or employment.“ For nurses, doctors, EMTs, first responders and other medical workers who are regularly exposed to patients sick with COVID-19, the risk is of getting sick is certainly characteristic of and particular to their employment.

Things get trickier when it comes to those working in jobs that have been deemed essential, but are outside the health care field. The fact is all Americans probably have an increased risk of getting sick now and with community contagion, we often won’t know how or where we got sick.

Therefore, while being exposed to contagion is certainly “characteristic” and “peculiar“ to healthcare workers, it gets more complicated when the work done is not usually thought of as requiring exposure to sick people.

After all, we wouldn’t normally think of postal workers or grocery store workers as being in a field involving illness; however, times have changed and changed quickly. Exposure to more people certainly can increase risk of getting sick, so too can the work a person must do. Some essential jobs require close contact or increased contact and that may be enough to trigger this insurance coverage.

Therefore, if you’re not able to stay at home because you are an “essential” worker, you may now be eligible for workers’ compensation coverage if your work environment creates an increased risk of illness as compared to the general public.

How do you test to determine if you will be covered as a non-healthcare worker -

Rice Law Office, PLLC, just took this issue (involving injury of unknown cause) to the Supreme Court and the Court confirmed, employees in New Hampshire are eligible for Workers’ Compensation coverage for illness or injury if they can show that their injury resulted from a risk greater than that to which the general public was exposed.

Employees can show this by establishing that there was something in the way in which they perform their job - qualitatively, or simply by virtue of the quantity of exposure to a risk that arose in the course of their duties.

With this logic, grocery store workers and particularly cashiers, who are required to interact directly and closely with the public, at a time when we have all been instructed to limit such interactions and engage in social distancing, should be able to make a strong argument that due to the nature of their work and the increased quantity of exposure to the public, if they contract COVID- 19, it is work related. Other workers may be able to make similar arguments and win these important benefits.

Unfortunately, we expect many of these claims will be denied. Therefore, if you think you have become ill due to conditions characteristic of your work (such as healthcare workers and first responders) or if you think that as a result of the qualitative or quantitative nature of your work you have an increased risk and become ill, You should file a claim for workers‘ compensation coverage.

No. Keep in mind, this is insurance your employer already paid for and it’s no different than making a claim to health insurance. However, with workers’ compensation, unlike health insurance, you get far more benefits and coverage. If your illness (or injury) is work related, your benefits may include payment for lost wages, job protection for up to 18 months and payment or reimbursement for medical treatment associated with your illness- without Co pays or deductibles.

That’s certainly up to you, but here is some information you may want to consider: One recent report by the health care cost database, FAIR health, found that a six-day in patient stay for treatment of coronavirus symptoms averaged $73,300.

That coverage for medical bills, plus the value of the payment for lost wages, and the potential for an 18 month right to reinstatement, may make these claims worth fighting for. Plus, keep in mind, it’s illegal to terminate an employee for following worker’s compensation claim. You also may have protection under state or federal laws as an individual with a disability.

In order to make a claim, you simply need to inform your employer if your illness and that you think it’s caused by work. You may be asked to fill out a form to document the date of illness and some basic information. You will also want to let your medical provider know that this is a work-related illness. Each time you get medical treatment the provider will need to fill out some paperwork and send your bill to the workers‘ compensation insurance company for payment. In addition, the workers compensation for his company may contact you to ask for a statement about how and when we became ill, in order to determine if they will accept your claim. If this happens, you have the right to contact an attorney before providing any statement. You simply let the insurance adjuster know that you think you’d like to consult with an attorney before speaking to anybody and they should allow you that opportunity. Most worker’s compensation attorneys will provide you with a free phone evaluation to help you determine if your diagnosis might be work related and therefore eligible for worker’s compensation coverage.

According to New Hampshire worker's compensation laws, some healthcare professionals or EMT's may qualify for worker's compensation due to COVID-19. If the healthcare worker has had to engage in care that entails unusually contagious situations, such as exposures in the process of resuscitation or intubation or without full PPE, the fact that their risk was increased due to the qualitative nature of their work is clear. Learn more: https://ricelaw-office.com/blog/entry/is-covid-19-an-occupational-disease-under-nh-worker-s-compensation-law

Yes! In the case of first responders, the burden of establishing causation with respect to COVID-19 has been made easier for the time being by Governor Sununu’s Emergency Order #36. This Order establishes that “Notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 281-a:2, XI and XIII, 16 and 27, in any proceeding before the New Hampshire Department of Labor or the administratively attached Compensation Appeals Board, there shall exist a prima facie presumption that the first responder’s COVID-19 exposure and infection were occupationally related.” Read more...

Employees affected by PTSD from the Coronavirus pandemic may qualify for workers' compensation in some cases. See new legislation created to protect workers in NH. https://ricelaw-office.com/blog/entry/ptsd-and-the-pandemic

COVID-19 and the American Workplace - THE FIVE LINKS YOU NEED for information about employee rights under the Temporary Rule: Paid Leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Updated news 4/14/20.

Legislation created two new emergency paid leave requirements in response to the Covid-19 global pandemic: Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) and Emergency FMLA Leave (EFMLEA). In combination, the two provisions of the law serve to expand the New Hampshire and federal laws, including the Family Medical Leave Act, to provide job protection and additional wage replacement rights for employees impacted as a result of Covid-19. In short, emergency paid sick leave (EPSL) allows an employee to take up to 80 hours (two weeks) of emergency paid sick leave for COVID-19 qualifying reasons. (See below) In addition, the Emergency FMLA Leave (EFMLEA) provision, entitles employees to take up to 12 weeks of emergency leave for child-care COVID-19 related reasons.

The government is working diligently to issue regulations,regarding the impacts of COVID-19 on the workforce and the right to Emergency Medical Leave. Please see the links below for up-to-date changes in employee paid sick leave, eligibility and available benefits.

Find helpful information about your rights benefits and resources.

The implications of Covid 19, commonly referred to as Coronavirus, are unprecedented and far reaching. Undoubtedly, we are first and foremost concerned about the potential impact of this virus on the health of our community and more particularly upon those most vulnerable, but then there are the economic and practical implications of our wide spread social distancing policy. Fortunately we have health care experts to guide us through the medical considerations while individuals and families will decide how best to protect themselves and others when it comes to calculations of risk and exposure. From the law’s perspective, there is also guidance and protections available for those at risk and for those financially effected by the Covid 19/Coronavirus pandemic.