Committee advances HB 111 to narrow workers' compensation coverage for small in‑home disability caregivers

A Utah House committee on an unspecified date voted unanimously to favorably recommend HB 111, “Workers' Compensation Amendments,” sending the bill to the full House with a favorable recommendation. Representative Lou Bey sponsored the bill.

The bill refines language enacted after 2014 that classified certain individuals hired through the Self‑Administered Services (SAS) program as employees for workers' compensation purposes. Representative Lou Bey said the earlier change unintentionally widened the definition and could pull larger care providers into the special SAS classification instead of limiting it to small, family‑style in‑home caregivers. "This bill would be able to help clarify an area of law that we don't want to have unintended consequences by applying this to groups that were not meant to be affected by it," Bey said.

Supporters said the original 2014 approach exempted families from paying workers' compensation but left injured caregivers without an avenue for insurance; a later change treated contractor caregivers as employees for workers' compensation. HB 111 narrows that scope so the special SAS classification applies only to the small family‑style providers intended by the earlier law, while larger providers would be assessed under the usual independent‑contractor/employee analysis.

Representative Colin Jack asked whether families or contractors would bear premiums under the clarified language. Bey said that under the SAS program the state previously provided additional funding to offset workers' compensation costs so families saw no net expense; in other contexts independent contractors would remain responsible for their own coverage. Bey also said the Utah Labor Commission and the state workers' compensation fund reviewed the draft language; Bey said they had no outstanding concerns and worked with the sponsor to narrow the definition.

Committee members sought impact estimates. Bey told the committee there are "over a 100" disability care providers that would otherwise have been affected and that the broader language could have pulled in multiple contractors per provider, increasing the practical scope of coverage. Representative Owens asked whether the bill changes determinations about whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor; Bey said it does not alter that general analysis, which remains a Labor Commission determination.

Representative Colin Jack moved to favorably recommend HB 111; the committee passed the motion unanimously.

The bill will move to the House floor for further consideration.