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Advocates push for 'Act to Protect Injured Workers' to strengthen anti-retaliation enforcement
Summary
A broad coalition of legal services, unions, immigrant advocacy groups and injury-law experts urged the Joint Committee to advance legislation (H2151 / S1310) that would expand protections and enforcement tools for workers who report job injuries.
Dozens of advocates, physicians and legal experts told the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development that the commonwealth’s workers’ compensation system needs stronger anti-retaliation measures to ensure injured employees can access care and benefits.
The bills most central to this panel were House 2151 and Senate 1310, commonly referred to in testimony as “an act to protect injured workers.” Testimony came from Greater Boston Legal Services, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), the Mass. AFL-CIO, legal practitioners and workers’ centers.
Why it matters: Witnesses described patterns of employer intimidation and retaliation — from threats to call immigration enforcement to alleged falsification of accident circumstances — that discourage injured workers from pursuing medical care and workers’ compensation claims. Advocates said the bills would expand remedies and enforcement authority, add notice and language-access requirements, and create a rebuttable presumption of retaliation when adverse actions follow an injury within a defined period.
Notable testimony - Audrey Richardson of Greater Boston Legal Services described the bill as “narrowly crafted to address the specific weakness in the law in coverage and remedies for retaliation” and noted the proposal has been reported favorably by this committee in previous sessions. - Stacy Sobieszek, a workers’ compensation attorney, said retaliation is “rampant” and described clients who were threatened with ICE, forced to keep working through injury, or who had benefits delayed by employers. She supported the bill’s creation of a rebuttable presumption of retaliation when adverse actions occur within 90 days of a claim. - The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition said the proposal would require multilingual notice of rights to workers and allow the Attorney General’s office to investigate employer retaliation against workers regardless of immigration status.
Discussion vs. decision: The hearing produced detailed testimony and multiple requests for a favorable report. No committee vote or formal direction to staff was recorded on the hearing record.
Ending: Advocates asked the committee to advance the bill, citing precedent from prior sessions and a broad coalition of signatories that includes unions, worker centers and legal aid organizations.
