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Committee considers amendment to increase wage replacement parity for injured unmarried workers with children
Summary
A proposed committee substitute to House Bill 17-88 would increase permanent time-loss payments for unmarried injured workers with children so their wage-replacement percentages match married workers without children; sponsors and unions said the change corrects an inequity, while business groups cautioned the original fiscal note showed a large
The House Appropriations Committee reviewed a proposed substitute to House Bill 17-88 that would change workers' compensation time-loss calculations so unmarried disabled workers with children receive the same base percentage as married workers without children, narrowing a historical gap in replacement rates.
Staff explained current practice: a totally disabled married worker without dependent children receives 65% of wages as time-loss compensation; an unmarried worker without children receives 60%. The proposed substitute would change the schedule so an unmarried worker with one child receives 65% of wages, and each additional child increases benefits by 2 percentage points up to the existing statutory maximum. Staff noted the change would standardize replacement rates between married and unmarried workers with children.
Labor unions and injured-worker advocates testified in support and described the change as an equity fix for single parents who face the same financial burdens as married counterparts. Opponents—including business, construction and retail groups—urged caution and asked for updated actuarial estimates, pointing to a Department of Labor and Industries illustrative fiscal note that earlier estimated substantial long-term cost increases in a prior version of the bill. Business groups asked that the committee hold the bill for further negotiation and a refined fiscal assessment.
Staff told the committee the Office of the State Actuary was expected to update cost estimates for the revised substitute; Labor and Industries reported some appropriated operating costs for claim-processing workload and related legal services in the fiscal note, but the larger long-term impacts on the accident and medical aid accounts were indeterminate pending actuarial review.
No vote was taken Tuesday; committee members requested updated actuarial analysis before advancing the measure.
