| Relates to workers compensation; presumption as to death or disability from COVID-19. | Senate | 4/8/2021 | SB 1375 | Enacted | 2021 |
| Relates to workers compensation; presumption as to death or disability from COVID-19. | House | 4/8/2021 | HB 2207 | Enacted | 2021 |
| Provides that the occupational disease presumption for death caused by hypertension or heart disease will apply for salaried or volunteer emergency medical services personnel who have at least five years of service and are operating in a locality that has legally adopted a resolution declaring that it will provide one or more of such presumptions. The provisions of the bill do not apply to any individual who was diagnosed with hypertension or heart disease before July 1, 2021. | House | 4/2/2021 | HB 1818 | Enacted | 2021 |
| Relates to workers compensation; presumption as to death or disability of health care providers from COVID-19. | House | 4/2/2021 | HB 1985 | Enacted | 2021 |
| Relates to the employees providing domestic service; application of laws applicable to employee safety. | House | 4/2/2021 | HB 2032 | Enacted | 2021 |
| Relates to employee classification: disaster; personal protective equipment. | House | 4/2/2021 | HB 2134 | Enacted | 2021 |
| Provides that the occupational disease presumption for death caused by hypertension or heart disease will apply for salaried or volunteer emergency medical services personnel who have at least five years of service and are operating in a locality that has legally adopted a resolution declaring that it will provide one or more of such presumptions. The provisions of the bill do not apply to any individual who was diagnosed with hypertension or heart disease before July 1, 2021 | Senate | 4/2/2021 | SB 1275 | Enacted | 2021 |
| Relates to workers compensation; claims not barred. | Senate | 4/2/2021 | SB 1351 | Enacted | 2021 |
| In part, removes obsolete and duplicative provisions, and improves the structure and clarity of statutes pertaining to the administration of the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, underground and surface coal mining, underground and surface mineral mines, the Virginia Gas and Oil Act, energy from wind, solar, geothermal, and nuclear sources, and energy policy. | Senate | 3/30/2021 | SB 1453 | Enacted | 2021 |
| Prohibits an employer or other person from discharging or taking other retaliatory action against an employee if such action is motivated by the knowledge or belief that the employee has filed a claim or taken or intends to take certain actions under the Virginia Workers Compensation Act. | House | 2/5/2021 | HB 1754 | In Senate Committee | 2021 |
| Adds full-time, salaried emergency medical services personnel employed by any locality that has authorized such presumption by ordinance to the list of persons to whom, after five years of service, the occupational disease presumption for death caused by hypertension or heart disease applies. | House | 1/15/2021 | HB 2080 | In House Committee | 2021 |
| Provides that, for the purposes of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act, "occupational disease" includes injuries from conditions resulting from repetitive and sustained physical stressors, including repetitive and sustained motions, exertions, posture stress, contact stresses, vibration, or noise. The bill provides that such injuries are covered under the Act. Such coverage does not require that the injuries occurred over a particular period, provided that such a period can be reasonably identified and documented and further provided that the employment is shown to have primarily caused the injury, considering all causes. | House | 1/15/2021 | HB 2228 | In House Committee | 2021 |
| Establishes a presumption that COVID-19 causing the death or disability of firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, law-enforcement officers, and correctional officers is an occupational disease compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act; provides that the COVID-19 virus is established by a positive diagnostic test for COVID-19, an incubation period consistent with COVID-19, and signs and symptoms of COVID-19 that require medical treatment; provides that such presumption applies to any death or disability occurring on or after March 12, 2020, caused by infection from the COVID-19 virus, provided that for any such death or disability that occurred on or after March 12, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2021, the claimant received a diagnosis of COVID-19 from a licensed physician, after either a presumptive positive test or a laboratory confirmed test for COVID-19, and presented with signs and symptoms of COVID-19 that required medical treatment. | Senate | 1/14/2021 | SB 1342 | In Senate Committee | 2021 |
| Establishes a presumption that COVID-19 causing the death or disability of firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, law-enforcement officers, first responders, health care providers, and school board employees is an occupational diseases compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act; provisions will be effective retroactive to January 1, 2020. | House | 9/10/2020 | HB 5028 | In Senate Committee | 2020 |
| Establishes a presumption that COVID-19 causing the death or disability of firefighters or other certain employees is an occupational disease compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act. | Senate | 8/19/2020 | SB 5022 | In Senate Committee | 2020 |
| Establishes a presumption that COVID-19 causing the death or disability of firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, law-enforcement officers, first responders, and health care providers is an occupational disease compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act; provisions will be effective retroactive to January 1, 2020. | Senate | 8/19/2020 | SB 5066 | In Senate Committee | 2020 |
| Establishes a presumption that COVID-19 causing the death or disability of firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, law-enforcement officers, first responders, and health care providers are occupational diseases compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act; provisions will be effective retroactive to January 1, 2020. | Senate | 8/19/2020 | SB 5097 | In Senate Committee | 2020 |
| Establishes a presumption that COVID-19 causing the death or disability of firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, law-enforcement officers, first responders, and health care providers is an occupational diseases compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act; provisions will be effective retroactive to January 1, 2020. | Senate | 8/19/2020 | SB 5104 | In Senate Committee | 2020 |
| In part, provides that post-traumatic stress disorder incurred by a law-enforcement officer or firefighter is compensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act if a mental health professional examines a law-enforcement officer or firefighter and diagnoses the individual as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the individual's undergoing a qualifying event, which includes an event occurring in the line of duty on or after July 1, 2020, in which a law-enforcement officer or firefighter views a deceased minor, witnesses the death of a person or an incident involving the death of a person, witnesses an injury to a person who subsequently dies, has physical contact with and treats an injured person who subsequently dies, transports an injured person who subsequently dies, or witnesses a traumatic physical injury that results in the loss of a vital body part or a vital body function that results in permanent disfigurement of the victim. The measure also establishes procedural requirements on employers that contest a claim for such benefits and requirements for resilience and self-care technique training. | House | 4/27/2020 | HB 438 | Enacted | 2020 |
| Provides that post-traumatic stress disorder incurred by a law-enforcement officer or firefighter is compensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act if a mental health professional examines a law-enforcement officer or firefighter and diagnoses the individual as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the individual's undergoing a qualifying event, defined as an incident or exposure occurring in the line of duty on or after July 1, 2020, (i) resulting in serious bodily injury or death to any person or persons (ii) involving a minor who has been injured, killed, abused, or exploited, (iii) involving an immediate threat to life of the claimant or another individual, (iv) involving mass casualties, or (v) responding to crime scenes for investigation. Other conditions for compensability include (i) if the post-traumatic stress disorder resulted from the law-enforcement officer or firefighter acting in the line of duty and, in the case of a firefighter, such firefighter complied with certain federal Occupational Safety and Health Act standards; (ii) if the law-enforcement officer's or firefighter's undergoing a qualifying event was a substantial factor in causing his post-traumatic stress disorder; (iii) if such qualifying event, and not another event or source of stress, was the primary cause of the post-traumatic stress disorder; and (iv) if the post-traumatic stress disorder did not result from any disciplinary action, work evaluation, job transfer, layoff, demotion, promotion, termination, retirement, or similar action of the officer or firefighter. The measure also establishes requirements for resilience and self-care technique training. | Senate | 4/27/2020 | SB 561 | Enacted | 2020 |
| Directs the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission to engage an independent and reputable national research organization to examine the implications of covering workers injuries caused by repetitive motion through the Virginia workers compensation system. | House | 4/22/2020 | HB 617 | Enacted | 2020 |
| Adds correctional officers and full-time sworn members of the enforcement division of the Department of Motor Vehicles to the list of public safety employees who are entitled to a presumption that certain infectious diseases are compensable occupational diseases. | Senate | 4/16/2020 | SB 345 | Enacted | 2020 |
| In part, provides that individuals who are engaged in providing domestic service are not excluded from employee protection laws, laws regarding payment of wages, the Virginia Minimum Wage Act, the Virginia Unemployment Compensation Act, and the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act. | Senate | 4/16/2020 | SB 804 | Enacted | 2020 |
| Requires an employer whose employee has filed a claim under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act to advise the employee whether the employer intends to accept or deny the claim or is unable to make such a determination because it lacks sufficient information from the employee. If the employer is unable to make such a determination because it lacks sufficient information from the employee, the employer shall so state and identify the needed additional information. If the employer intends to deny the claim, it shall provide the reasons. | House | 4/15/2020 | HB 46 | Enacted | 2020 |
| Adds correctional officers to the list of public safety employees who are entitled to a presumption that certain infectious diseases are compensable occupational diseases.
| House | 4/15/2020 | HB 169 | Enacted | 2020 |
| Prohibits an employer from classifying an individual as an independent contractor if he is an employee. An individual shall be considered an employee of the party that pays the remuneration for purposes of Titles 40.1 (Labor and Employment), 58.1 (Taxation), 60.2 (Unemployment Compensation), and 65.2 (Workers' Compensation) unless and until it is shown to the satisfaction of the Department of Taxation that such individual is an independent contractor under Internal Revenue Service guidelines. Violators are subject to civil penalties and debarment from public contracts. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021. | House | 4/10/2020 | HB 1407 | Enacted | 2020 |
| Prohibits an employer from classifying an individual as an independent contractor if he is an employee. An individual shall be considered an employee of the party that pays the remuneration for purposes of Titles 40.1 (Labor and Employment), 58.1 (Taxation), 60.2 (Unemployment Compensation), and 65.2 (Workers' Compensation) unless and until it is shown to the satisfaction of the Department of Taxation that such individual is an independent contractor under Internal Revenue Service guidelines. Violators are subject to civil penalties and debarment from public contracts. | Senate | 4/10/2020 | SB 744 | Enacted | 2020 |
| Authorizes the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission to create an Ombudsman program and appoint an ombudsman to administer such program. The program's purpose will be to provide neutral educational information and assistance to persons who are not represented by an attorney, including those persons who have claims pending or docketed before the Commission. | House | 4/10/2020 | HB 1558 | Enacted | 2020 |
| Adds cancers of the colon, brain, or testes to the list of cancers that are presumed to be an occupational disease covered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act when firefighters and certain employees develop the cancer. The measure removes the compensability requirement that the employee who develops cancer had contact with a toxic substance encountered in the line of duty. | Senate | 4/6/2020 | SB 9 | Enacted | 2020 |
| Adds cancers of the colon, brain, or testes to the list of cancers that are presumed to be an occupational disease covered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act when firefighters or certain employees develop the cancer. The measure removes the compensability requirement that the employee who develops cancer had contact with a toxic substance encountered in the line of duty. | House | 4/6/2020 | HB 783 | Enacted | 2020 |
| Requires the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission to review and adjust the Virginia fee schedules annually. Under current law, such review is required biennially. The bill also requires the Commission, in its review conducted in 2020, to adjust the fee schedules to reflect the inflation or deflation for the years 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020. | Senate | 1/29/2020 | SB 227 | Failed | |
| Relates to election of a Supreme Court of Virginia Justice, Circuit Court Judges, General District Court Judges, and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Judges.
| House | 1/28/2020 | HJR 161 | Passed | |
| In part, provides that, for purposes of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act, an inmate is an employee of the entity operating the correctional facility where the inmate participates in any work program during his incarceration. | House | 1/24/2020 | HB 1543 | In House Committee | |
| Relates to employees providing domestic service; application of laws applicable to employment, unemployment benefits, and workers compensation. | House | 1/22/2020 | HB 1730 | In House Committee | |
| Provides that an employee who suffers a psychological injury from sudden shock and fright that arises out of and in the course of any employment shall have a compensable claim under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act regardless of whether the incident that caused the sudden shock and fright is either a normal or expected part of the employee's work. | House | 1/20/2020 | HB 1596 | In House Committee | |
| Establishes a presumption that hypertension or heart disease causing the death or disability of full-time salaried police dispatchers is an occupational disease compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act. | House | 1/14/2020 | HB 649 | In House Committee | |
| Adds cancers of the colon, brain, or testes to the list of cancers that are presumed to be an occupational disease covered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act when firefighters and certain employees develop the cancer. The measure removes the compensability requirement that the employee who develops cancer had contact with a toxic substance encountered in the line of duty. | House | 1/14/2020 | HB 733 | In House Committee | |
| Prohibits a contractor from classifying an individual who performs delivery services or construction labor services for the contractor as the contractor's independent contractor if he is an employee of the contractor. An individual performing such services for a contractor shall be presumed to be an employee of the contractor unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Labor and Industry that (i) the individual has been and will continue to be free from control or direction over the performance of the services performed by the individual for wages, both under his contract of service and in fact; (ii) the services are either outside the usual course of the business for which such services are performed or such services are performed outside of all the places of business of the enterprise for which such services are performed; and (iii) such individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession, or business. Other factors applicable to such a determination in the case of an individual performing construction labor services are whether the individual maintained a workplace that is subject to inspection pursuant to occupational safety and health laws and whether the individual has been assigned an experience rating tax rate for purposes of unemployment compensation. Violators are subject to civil penalties and debarment from public contracts. The measure requires a contractor entering into a public contract to provide an affidavit, under penalty of perjury, attesting that (a) each individual performing delivery services or construction labor services is properly classified; (b) the contractor has completed a federal I-9 immigration form and has such form on file for each employee; (c) the contractor has complied with requirements for participation with the E-verify program for each employee; (d) the contractor has no reasonable basis to believe that any individual performing services for such contractor is an undocumented worker; and (e) the contractor is not barred from contracting with the public body. | House | 1/14/2020 | HB 801 | In House Committee | |
| Adds cancers of the colon, brain, or testes to the list of cancers that are presumed to be an occupational disease covered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act when firefighters or certain employees develop the cancer. Removes the compensability requirement that the employee who develops cancer had contact with a toxic substance encountered in the line of duty. | House | 1/13/2020 | HB 44 | In House Committee | |
| Prohibits an employer or other person from discharging an employee if the discharge is motivated to any extent by knowledge or belief that the employee has filed a claim or taken or intends to take certain other actions under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act. Currently, retaliatory discharges are prohibited only if the employer or other person discharged an employee solely because the employee has taken or intends to take such an action. | House | 1/13/2020 | HB 45 | In House Committee | |
| Provides that an injured employee is eligible for benefits under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act when a compensable accident happens while the employee is employed outside Virginia if (i) the employment contract was not expressly for services exclusively to be performed outside Virginia and (ii) either the employer's place of business is in Virginia or the employee regularly performs work on the employer's behalf in Virginia and resides in Virginia. | House | 1/13/2020 | HB 47 | In House Committee | |
| Establishes a presumption that hypertension or heart disease causing the death or disability of full-time salaried emergency medical technicians employed by the City of Virginia Beach is an occupational disease compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act. | House | 1/13/2020 | HB 52 | In House Committee | |
| Adds cancers of the colon, brain, or testes to the list of cancers that are presumed to be an occupational disease covered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act when firefighters or certain employees develop the cancer. The measure removes the compensability requirement that the employee who develops cancer had contact with a toxic substance encountered in the line of duty. | Senate | 1/13/2020 | SB 58 | In Senate Committee | |
| Adds correctional officers and full-time sworn members of the enforcement division of the Department of Motor Vehicles to the list of public safety employees who are entitled to presumptions that hypertension, heart disease, and certain infectious diseases are occupational diseases compensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act. | Senate | 1/13/2020 | SB 265 | In Senate Committee | |
| Adds cancers of the colon, brain, or testes to the list of cancers that are presumed to be an occupational disease covered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act when firefighters and certain employees develop the cancer. The measure also incorporates some of the recommendations of the 2019 study of the workers' compensation system and disease presumptions conducted by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission by (i) reducing the required number of years of service from 12 to five; (ii) removing the requirement that the employee's years of service be continuous; and (iii) providing that an eligible employee may meet the toxic exposure requirement by demonstrating either exposure to a toxic substance, as is currently required, or participation in responses to fire scenes, either during the fire or afterward as part of clean-up or investigation. The measure also removes the definition of a "toxic substance" as one that is a known or suspected carcinogen as defined by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. | Senate | 1/13/2020 | SB 381 | In Senate Committee | |
| Adds cancers of the colon, brain, or testes to the list of cancers that are presumed to be an occupational disease covered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act when firefighters and certain employees develop the cancer. The measure removes the compensability requirement that the employee who develops cancer had contact with a toxic substance encountered in the line of duty. The measure also removes the definition of a toxic substance as a known or suspected carcinogen, as defined by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, that causes or is suspected to cause specific types of cancers for which the presumption of compensability exists. | Senate | 1/13/2020 | SB 531 | In Senate Committee | |
| Establishes a presumption that if certain firefighters, law-enforcement officers, hazardous materials officers, animal protection police officers, or 9-1-1 emergency call takers, dispatchers, or similarly situated employees (i) receive a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from a licensed physician, licensed clinical psychologist, licensed professional counselor, or licensed clinical social worker; (ii) suffer death or any impairment resulting in total or partial disability from work caused by the PTSD; and (iii) receive a statement from such a provider that the PTSD was caused by a single critical event or multiple exposures to critical events that occurred in the course of the employment, then the PTSD is an occupational disease, suffered in the line of duty, that is covered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act unless such presumption is overcome by a preponderance of competent evidence to the contrary. The measure provides that a "critical event" includes an event that results in serious injury or death to an individual; deals with a minor who has been injured, killed, abused, exploited, or a victim of a crime; deals with mass casualties; results in injury to or the death of a coworker; involves an immediate threat to the life of the claimant or another individual; or involves the abuse, cruelty, injury, exploitation, or death of an animal. | Senate | 1/13/2020 | SB 741 | In Senate Committee | |
| Adds cancers of the colon, brain, and testes to the list of cancers that are presumed to be an occupational disease covered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act when firefighters and certain employees develop the cancer. | House | 1/13/2020 | HB 1536 | In House Committee | |
| Establishes a presumption that hypertension or heart disease causing the death or disability of a full-time sworn member of the enforcement division of the Department of Motor Vehicles is an occupational disease compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act. | House | 1/13/2020 | HB 1542 | In House Committee | |
| Provides that post-traumatic stress disorder incurred by a law-enforcement officer or firefighter is compensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act if a mental health professional examines a law-enforcement officer or firefighter and diagnoses the individual as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the individual's undergoing a qualifying event, which includes an event occurring in the line of duty on or after July 1, 2020, in which a law-enforcement officer or firefighter views a deceased minor, witnesses the death of a person or an incident involving the death of a person, witnesses an injury to a person who subsequently dies, has physical contact with and treats an injured person who subsequently dies, transports an injured person who subsequently dies, or witnesses a traumatic physical injury that results in the loss of a vital body part or a vital body function that results in permanent disfigurement of the victim. Other conditions for compensability include (i) if the post-traumatic stress disorder resulted from the law-enforcement officer or firefighter acting in the line of duty and, in the case of a firefighter, such firefighter complied with certain federal Occupational Safety and Health Act standards; (ii) if the law-enforcement officer's or firefighter's undergoing a qualifying event was a substantial factor in causing his post-traumatic stress disorder; (iii) if such qualifying event, and not another event or source of stress, was the primary cause of the post-traumatic stress disorder; and (iv) if the post-traumatic stress disorder did not result from any disciplinary action, work evaluation, job transfer, layoff, demotion, promotion, termination, retirement, or similar action of the officer or firefighter. The measure establishes procedural requirements on employers that contest a claim for such benefits. The measure also establishes requirements for resilience and self-care technique training. | Senate | 1/13/2020 | SB 924 | In Senate Committee | |
| Adds cancers of the colon, brain, and testes to the list of cancers that are presumed to be an occupational disease covered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act when firefighters and certain employees develop the cancer. | House | 1/10/2020 | HB 121 | In House Committee | |
