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Senate approves Mary Ann Leonard Educators on the Job Injury Act to cover school employees
Summary
Senate Bill 1, the Mary Ann Leonard Educators on the Job Injury Act, passed the Senate as amended. The law establishes a new claims track for school employees injured on the job, clarifies PHIP payment responsibilities, narrows mental-injury coverage to injuries tied to a bodily injury, and preserves existing local short-term benefits.
The Alabama Senate passed Senate Bill 1, called the Mary Ann Leonard Educators on the Job Injury Act, to create a statutory mechanism addressing on-the-job injuries to public education employees.
The bill's sponsor, Senator Gavan, said the act fills a coverage gap for teachers and other school employees who previously had no clear workers'-compensation equivalent. The Senate adopted a comprehensive floor amendment that cleaned up drafting issues, added limits on mental-injury claims where no physical injury occurred, clarified subrogation and settlement rules, and preserved local short-term benefits such as the 90-day payments already available through local boards.
Why it matters: Supporters described cases in which school employees suffered serious injuries while performing job duties and encountered delay and difficulty seeking compensation. The bill changes procedures for claims, clarifies that the Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Plan (PHIP) will pay covered medical bills according to its fee schedule, and allows the newly created board to negotiate lump-sum settlements.
Amendments and technical fixes: Sponsors and committee attorneys corrected a drafting error that would have left the statute of limitations open-ended; the amendment clarified that the clock runs from a defined date after the last temporary-total-disability payment. The sponsor said the law "shall become, effective immediately" upon approval, subject to implementation details for funding and board setup.
Votes and next steps: The Senate adopted the sponsor's amendment and passed the bill on final passage as amended by a 32-0 roll call. Supporters asked the House to consider the provision and for appropriations to fund initial operations.
Votes at a glance - SB 1 (Gavan) — Amendment adopted; final passage as amended: 32 ayes, 0 nays. Outcome: approved.
