Workers’ Compensation Commission
JOHN A. MASTROPIETRO, Chairman
Established - 1913
Statutory
authority – CGS Chapter 568
Central office - 21 Oak Street,
Hartford,
CT 06106
Telephone
number - 860-493-1500
Average number
of full-time employees - 125
Recurring
operating expenses - $13,740,111
Capital outlay - $21,707
Organizational structure - Chairman, Chief Administrative Officer,
Compensation Review Board, Business, Personnel, Information Systems, Education,
Rehabilitation, and Statistical units are located in the Chairman’s
Office. Fifteen additional trial
Commissioners preside over dispute resolution hearings at the eight district
offices.
Since the Workers’ Compensation Act
(Chapter 568, CGS) was adopted in 1913, numerous enhancements and modifications
in coverage and benefits have been made by the Legislature. With few exceptions, all workers and
employers are now covered by the workers’ compensation laws. When a worker has suffered a job-related
injury or illness, he or she is entitled to certain well-defined wage
replacement and medical benefits. The
mission of the Workers’ Compensation Commission is to ensure injured employees’
rights are fully protected, and that workers and employers fully carry out their
legal responsibilities. There are
fifteen At-Large Commissioners who serve in eight district offices throughout
the state. They are appointed by the
Governor with legislative approval. A
sixteenth Commissioner serves as Chairman of the Commission. The Chairman is responsible for
administration of the entire Commission.
The Chairman also serves as Chief of the Compensation Review Board (CRB)
along with two other Commissioners appointed by him for one-year terms to hear
appeals of cases decided by the Commissioners.
The Commission also educates employees about their legal rights and
helps rehabilitate and return injured workers to gainful employment. During fiscal year 2007, the Commission’s
Safety Program Officers worked hard and effectively to monitor worker safety
committees throughout the state. Prevention, education and rehabilitation are
integral to the Commission’s statutory responsibilities. A Statistical Division measures and monitors
the caseload and performance of the Commission.
In recent years, two landmark reform bills
were enacted.
The first, (Public Act 91-339) centralized
administrative duties and powers in the person and Office of the Chairman to
more effectively implement enforcement of the law. Twenty-three specific duties were assigned to
the Chairman, including budgetary and personnel matters, assignment of
Commissioners, and regulation of attorneys, physicians, and preferred provider
organizations. The Chairman and his
staff implement these responsibilities, guided by an Advisory Board composed of
business and labor representatives, including an injured worker.
The second, (Public Act 93-228) effected
historic reforms of the Connecticut workers’ compensation laws effective July
1, 1993. The benefit modifications and
related reforms contained in this Act, combined with the efficiencies
engendered by Public Act 91-339, have resulted in reduced payouts. Cumulative savings over these past years are
over $750 million dollars compared to what costs would have been without the
1993 reforms.
The Commission constantly strives to upgrade service to its clientele. Two key goals are: expediting disputed claims settlement, and returning injured workers to productive jobs. These goals are closely monitored by the Commission through manual and automated reporting systems.
Safety Program Officers work cooperatively
and confidentially with employers to devise and implement safety programs
resulting in reduced accidents, injuries, medical costs and lost workdays. During the period of July 1, 2006 to June 30,
2007, Safety Program Officers visited 1,767 employer sites. In total, 18,605 employer sites have been
visited, and more than 5,000 safety and health committees, covering more than
916,621 employees, have been approved.
Medical care plans, including preferred provider organizations, are also
reviewed for compliance with workplace safety and health laws.
The Commission participates in the
Connecticut Licensing Information Center, providing one-stop licensing
information to state employers via the Internet.
During the Fiscal Year ending June 30,
2007, the Commission moved aggressively to provide more effective and efficient
service delivery.
All duties and responsibilities continue
to be executed effectively and punctually with fewer full-time employees than
in the last several years.
Continual monitoring of hearing backlogs
at the eight district offices, and reassignment of resources to meet heavy
workloads, have resulted in a major decrease in time between an initial hearing
request and the date the hearing is actually held. Hearing backlog is down dramatically for both
informal and formal hearings. The
Chairman actively monitors cases ensuring that no cases are unnecessarily
delayed.
The Compensation Review Board continues to
process cases expeditiously. This year,
new appeals numbered 133. Meanwhile,
there were 135 dispositions, including 91 written opinions.
During fiscal year 2007, 968 initial
interviews for rehabilitation assistance were completed. An additional 1,645 individuals received
various types of rehabilitation services.
Through guidance, counseling and cost-effective short-term training
programs, 462 injured workers returned to the workforce, including 176 who
received funding for re-training.
This high success rate was achieved
despite a major reduction of the program’s staff and budget authorization. The staff, which had numbered thirteen
professional counselors, including a director, and a clerical worker, now
numbers just six employees, five professional and one clerical. Worker Rehabilitation vocational education
coordinators have been assigned to specific district offices, allowing greater
familiarity with client needs and resources available in various geographic
areas of the state. Highly cost
effective on-the-job training programs have replaced an earlier emphasis on
formal education programs. The clients
of worker’s rehabilitation services who return to work can now support
themselves and their families, and are paying taxes as a direct result of
workers’ rehabilitation programs.
To help monitor medical costs, (comprising
more than 40 percent of total workers’ compensation payments), the Commission
reviews and approves applications for managed care plans. As of June 30, 2007, 3,615 employers with
488,144 employees have approved plans.
A steadily increasing percentage of online
reporting of workplace injuries has resulted in more accurate data at a lower
cost. By the end of fiscal year 2007,
the implementation of an injury reporting system facilitating web-based as well
as value added network submission of first reports became operational. The Commission is continually adding
fully-automated trading partners with the result being greater accuracy and
cost effectiveness in injury reporting.
Injured workers now routinely receive information packets detailing
their rights and responsibilities within one week of the initial report of
injury.
The Commission’s website has expanded
vastly, providing vital, up-to-date information on all aspects of the
Commission’s resources and services including the law, CRB decisions and
late-breaking news. Additionally, the
Commission’s major forms are now available in fillable PDF format.
This
year the agency added a new capability to its online fillable PDF-formatted
forms which enables customers to not only fill them in online, but also to save
them along with their input data (a technical first which saves customers from
having to spend hundreds of dollars per computer to buy special software to
perform this task) and this new capability is now provided free to the public.
During fiscal year 2007 the Commission
continued major upgrades, affecting most of the Commission’s core functions,
including claims processing, rehabilitation services, and health and safety
programs. Operating systems and office
mail are currently “state of the art”.
Additionally, planning continued during fiscal year 2007 on the
acquisition of powerful new servers, and the eventual migration of data and
applications to a Department of Information Technology based standard. All aspects of the Commission’s operations
will be addressed with an eye toward increased efficiency and responsiveness to
the needs of injured workers and the general public.
Committees on the claims process, forms
design, and intra-office communications, established in prior years continue
their productive work. The Commission’s
strategic planning goals are:
-- shortening the claims process in order to
get benefits to injured workers as soon as possible;
-- elimination of duplicate claims;
-- identification of non-insured employers;
-- quick retrieval of records, saving
personnel costs;
-- sophisticated data analysis to identify
trouble spots before they become serious, thus affording greatly enhanced
service to Connecticut workers; and,
--worker rehabilitation case tracking for
Connecticut workers.
The Commission’s Affirmative Action Plan
is currently in compliance. While the
commission has no full-time Affirmative Action Officer, its Affirmative Action
Plan and Program are prepared by its personnel officer. The commission continues its commitment to
the state Affirmative Action Program.
Injuries/Illnesses
– 55,437
Fatalities
- 80
Informal
Hearings – 48,615
Formal
Hearings – 1,381
Pre-formal
Hearings – 9,422
Voluntary
Agreements – 21,543
Stipulations
– 6,915
Awards
– 1,274
Dismissals
– 135
Education
Services Information
Responses
– 75,865
Website
– 1,045,565 visits; 3,069,525 page views; and, 441,772 forms, publications and
news feeds downloaded