Public Meeting of the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board

A meeting of the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board was held on Monday, April 12, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. at the Office of the Chairman, 21 Oak Street, 4th Floor, Hartford, CT.

A regular meeting of the Workers’ Compensation Commission Advisory Board was held on April 12, 2010, 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, Rocco Calo, Benedict Cozzi, Glenn Marshall, Donald Shubert, and Gregory Nokes. Also present were Chairman John Mastropietro, Marvin Smernoff, and Connie Rue of the Workers’ Compensation Commission.

Chairman Gardner Wright introduced the newest member Gregory Nokes of Middlesex Hospital, recently appointed by Governor M. Jodi Rell to become a member of the Advisory Board to fill the statutory hospital position.

Budget Issues - Chairman Mastropietro announced that the Commission has implemented the reductions set by the Governor’s newest deficit mitigation plan, including the elimination of Commissioner’s travel reimbursement.
Payor-Provider Guidelines - Chairman Mastropietro praised the participants who assisted him in developing the Payor-Provider Guidelines developed over the past 15 months, including over 20 individuals representing business, insurance, physicians and employers across the state. Chairman Mastropietro plans to announce implementation of the guidelines shortly.
Joint Enforcement Commission on Employee Misclassification - Chairman Mastropietro with Glenn Marshall provided the group with the history and current status of pending legislation (H.B. 5204) to stop misclassification of employees as independent contractors and prohibit employers from misclassifying employees to reduce their workers’ compensation insurance premiums.
Hearing Dockets - Chairman Mastropietro reported that there are no backlogs in the District Offices.
Kleen Energy Systems - Chairman Mastropietro reported that all hearings and claims are progressing through the system in the normal course. No problems have been brought to his attention. Approximately 26 claims have been filed.

Minutes from the regular meeting held on March 8, 2010 were approved. There being no further business, a motion to adjourn was made by Benedict Cozzi at 10:55 a.m. The motion was seconded by Glenn Marshall. The motion to adjourn was unanimously accepted.