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Workers' compensation official: volunteer firefighters are covered; benefits include medical, indemnity, death payments and tax-linked caps
Summary
Workforce Safety & Insurance told legislators volunteer firefighters are covered by mandatory workers' compensation, outlined benefit types and caps, and described how premiums are calculated for volunteer entities.
An official from Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI) told the Emergency Response Services Committee that volunteer firefighters in North Dakota are covered by the state's workers' compensation system and described the range of benefits and premium methods the agency uses.
Tim Wallin, chief of injury services at WSI, explained the three broad benefit types workers' compensation pays for work-related injuries: complete medical benefits (paid in full for treatment related to the injury), wage-replacement indemnity benefits (temporary total disability and temporary partial disability) and permanent partial impairment awards.
"Medical benefits are complete. They pay for all treatments based on the injury ... there are no deductibles, there are no co-payments," Wallin said. He added indemnity benefits generally replace about two-thirds of gross lost wages (to account for tax differences) and that temporary total disability (TTD) benefits generally continue for up to two years and are capped at a maximum weekly benefit tied to the state average weekly wage.
Wallin provided several key figures: the maximum weekly indemnity rate he cited was $1,569 (the committee heard this figure in the hearing); permanent partial impairment awards are one-time payments based on AMA impairment guidelines, with examples ranging from a minimum award (Wallin cited $4,400) to the largest awards (Wallin cited up to $660,000 for extreme permanent impairment).
On death benefits, Wallin said WSI pays survivors a wage-replacement benefit and a statutory maximum (recently increased to $400,000), plus burial expense reimbursement of up to $10,000 and education scholarships for dependents (Wallin described $12,500 per year, for up to 5 years).
WSI testified the state—s volunteer coverage is mandated by statute; premiums for volunteer firefighter coverage are not calculated by per-employee wages but by the population of the fire district, a different approach from standard employer premium models. Wallin said many local departments do not opt to treat small stipends as taxable covered wages and that self-employed individuals may elect coverage.
Why it matters: Understanding how workers' compensation covers volunteers matters for recruitment, departmental budgets and for evaluating proposals to add other state benefits for volunteers.
What—s next: WSI offered to produce fiscal estimates on alternative coverage models if the committee requests cost comparisons, and committee members asked WSI to estimate what it would cost for the state to offer a minimum coverage level for certain non-covered volunteers.
