Corrections Officers May Get Access to Mental Health Workers’ Comp
Proposed legislation would count mental illnesses like PTSD as occupational diseases for corrections officers in Nebraska.
Nebraska’s workers’ compensation laws currently allow workers to claim workers’ compensation benefits for mental health treatment if the mental illness was the result of a physical injury on the job. A recently passed legislative bill will expand workers’ compensation benefits for mental health treatment for corrections officers.
What’s Special About LB 407
Nebraska LB 407, which passed in May 2021, would include mental illnesses as occupational diseases for county corrections officers in Nebraska. Before the new law passed, corrections officers could only claim mental illnesses as compensable if they were also claiming physical injuries that happened for a job. For example, a corrections officer could claim treatment for PTSD arising from being assaulted at work, while also claiming treatment of physical injuries resulting from the assault. Under the new law, it is also possible for corrections officers to claim treatment for anxiety for the workplace stress that is an unavoidable part of being a corrections officer. As it stands, first responders, front line state employees, and now county correctional officers can claim a work-related mental health injury without having to show a physical injury.
Contact Andres Law Offices, PC LLO About Mental Health Workers’ Comp Claims
If you think you may have sustained a mental health injury on the job, contact Andres Law Offices, PC LLO in Omaha, Nebraska about your workers’ compensation case.