Public Meeting of the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board

A meeting of the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board was held on Monday, February 9, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. at the Office of the Chairman, 21 Oak Street, 4th Floor, Hartford, CT.

Agenda Topics

Opening Remarks
Chairman’s Update
Speakers:

John Olsen, President of the Connecticut AFL-CIO
Bonnie Stewart, Esq., Vice President of Government Affairs, CBIA

Approval of Minutes
New Business
Adjournment

A regular meeting of the Workers’ Compensation Commission Advisory Board was held on February 9, 2009, in the Workers’ Compensation Commission’s CRB Hearing Room, 21 Oak Street, Hartford, Connecticut.

The meeting convened at 10:15 a.m. with the following Board Members present: Chairman Gardner Wright, presiding; Benedict Cozzi; Glenn Marshall, Marvin Morganbesser, and William Ridolfi. Also present were Chairman John Mastropietro, Marvin Smernoff and Michael Petosa of the Workers’ Compensation Commission; John Olsen of AFL-CIO; Bonnie Stewart, Esq. and Kia Murrell Esq. of CBIA; and Patricia Shea, Esq. of Levin, Powers, Brennan & Shea.

The Governor’s nominations of Commissioner Nancy Salerno, Commissioner Amado Vargas, and Commissioner Ernie Walker are proceeding through the legislative process.
The Governor’s budget presented on February 5, 2009 includes closure of the Middletown District Office; transfer of funds from the Workers’ Compensation Administration Fund of $4 million in FY 2009; $2 million in FY 2010; and $2 million in FY 2011.
The hospital fee reimbursement issues between Yale New Haven Hospital and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company continue and appear to be spreading to other hospitals throughout the state. Options for resolution are under review and consideration by the parties.

Chairman Wright introduced speakers Bonnie Stewart of CBIA and John Olsen of AFL-CIO. They discussed the history of workers’ compensation reforms, the importance of Connecticut’s competitive market, and the need to insure that changes to the tax law be fair to the citizenry. They debated several workers’ compensation issues including discretionary benefits and scarring. They agreed that health care is an important component of change.

Glenn Marshall spoke about the Governor’s proposal to eliminate the Commission on Employee Misclassification. Discussion was held.

A motion to adjourn was made by Benedict Cozzi at 11:25 a.m. The motion was seconded by Glenn Marshall. The motion to adjourn was unanimously accepted.