Utah Senate advances bill denying some workers’ comp benefits when impairment is major cause of injury

The Utah Senate on Feb. 21 advanced Senate Bill 128, a substitute measure that would deny indemnity and ongoing medical benefits under the state workers’ compensation system when illegal drugs or alcohol are the major contributing cause of a workplace accident.

Sponsor Senator David Bueller, speaking for the Business, Labor and Economic Development Committee, said the bill implements recommendations from the governor’s task force to discourage impairment at work. “The largest contributing factor to accidents on the job is alcohol and drug abuse,” Bueller said on the Senate floor, and the legislation, he added, preserves emergency medical benefits while narrowing ongoing indemnity payments where impairment is shown to be the major cause of injury.

Opponents contended the measure inserts fault into a traditionally no‑fault system and could shift costs to taxpayers and other programs. “Workers’ compensation was set up to be no fault,” said Senator Ward, warning that excluding some injured workers from benefits would not make the underlying need disappear and would likely transfer costs to public assistance programs.

Floor amendments changed the bill’s application and clarified employer responsibility. Senator Wharton proposed replacing multiple 15% adjustments with a 100% penalty but the motion failed. Senator Steiner proposed a 50% disability reduction; that amendment also failed. Senator Black offered an amendment to exempt application of the employee penalties if the employer “permitted, encouraged, or had actual knowledge” of the impairment; the sponsor accepted a reworded, friendly version of that language that aligns with statutory phrasing.

Senator Taylor successfully moved an amendment to preserve medical coverage while allowing reductions in disability compensation: Taylor argued removing medical coverage would shift substantial medical costs onto either employers’ private insurance or public programs. After debate and a clarification vote, the amendment was adopted.

With those changes, Bueller asked for third‑reading consideration. The presiding officer announced the bill will move forward for third reading; the transcript records the chair’s tally as the bill being recorded as passing to the third‑reading calendar (announced on the floor as 18 aye votes, 11 nay votes). The Senate did not adopt final changes on the floor beyond those amendments, and the bill will return for third reading and final passage votes.

Supporters framed SB128 as a workplace‑safety measure that incentivizes employers and employees to keep worksites free of impairment and to adopt testing and training programs. Opponents urged caution, raising constitutional and fairness issues and the potential for litigation if classes of employees are excluded from coverage.

Next steps: SB128 was placed on the Senate’s third‑reading calendar for a future vote with the adopted amendments. The measure will return to the floor for a final vote and any remaining amendments before transmission to the House.