Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council Legislative Proposal

During its meeting on February 15, 2017, the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council (WCAC) discussed a legislative proposal to add post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to the list of the presumptive occupational diseases covered under the workers’ compensation statute. The proposal comes from Senators Nick Frentz and Dan Schoen. Citing some statistics that show suicide rates for police officers and firefighters are more than double that of other occupations, as well as other environmental factors, such as a routine absence of choice of what dangers the police officers and firefighters are exposed to, the proposal would make PTSD a presumptive work-related illness for public safety officers, similar to pneumonia or certain cancers. Because some members of the business community expressed their opposition, pending further discussions, the WCAC decided to postpone the vote on the proposal until next meeting.

For more information about this issue or about workers’ compensation, please contact Yuri Jelokov at 507-625-2525.