MEMORANDUM NO. 2017-08

New Law Allowing Employers to Post Employee Claim Filing Location effective October 1, 2017

Section 31-294c of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended by Public Act 17-141, now allows employers to designate for their employees a specific location where those employees must file any claims they may make for workers' compensation benefits.

Provisions of the New Law

The new law - which goes into effect on October 1, 2017 - contains the following provisions:
 

1. Any employer - other than the state or a municipality - may opt to post the location to which an employee must send a claim for workers' compensation benefits.
    
   If an employer chooses to designate a location for employee claims, notice must be posted where other posters required by law are displayed in the workplace.
    
    
2. When an employer opts into this new provision, it is required to send the same address information it has posted in its workplace to the Workers' Compensation Commission.
    
   The Commission shall post the location submitted by the employer to its internet website, where it will also be available to employees.
    
   NOTE:
    
   The Commission has a procedure for employers to follow as they submit original and updated information for online posting, which is outlined on the following pages under "Procedure for Submitting Claim Location Information to the Commission for Posting to its Website."
    
    
3. When an employer opts into this new provision, it is the employer's sole responsibility to ensure that the information posted in the workplace, and that submitted to the Commission for posting on its website, is accurate, and consistent with each other.
    
   NOTE:
    
   Neither the Commission, nor any of its employees, shall be responsible for verifying that employer-submitted information is either accurate or that it is consistent with the information posted by the employer in its workplace.

Updated "Notice to Employees" Form
for Posting Claim Location Information
in the Workplace

Each employer is already required, pursuant to Section 31-284(f) of the Workers' Compensation Act, to post "in a conspicuous place" a notice of availability of compensation. The Workers' Compensation Commission has a "Notice to Employees" form that is to be used by employers to meet this statutory requirement.

In order to best assist employers in not only satisfying the posting requirement that already exists - but also to aid employers who wish to opt into this new provision - the Commission has updated its "Notice to Employees" form to include:
 

1. Space to provide its employees with already-required information pursuant to Section 31-284(f)
    
   and
    
2. Space for the employer to post its new "opt-in" claim location information pursuant to Section 31-294c, as amended by Public Act 17-141, where its employees must send any claim for compensation under this new provision (by certified mail, as required by law).
    
   The Commission's newly-revised "Notice to Employees" form is attached to this memorandum, and is also available from the Commission's website at the following address:
    
     https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/WCC/forms/employer-forms/notice.pdf
    
   NOTE:
    
   Any employer opting into this new provision must now post this newly-updated "Notice to Employees" form "in the workplace location where other labor law posters required by the Labor Department are prominently displayed" pursuant to Section 31-294c, as amended by Public Act 17-141.

Procedure for Submitting Claim
Location Information to the Commission
for Posting to its Website

The Workers' Compensation Commission has established the following procedure by which an employer opting into this new provision must submit (1) original address information, and (2) subsequent updates (as deemed necessary solely by the employer), to the Commission for posting to its website.
 

1. The employer must create a PDF (portable document format) file that contains employee claim location information that is both accurate and consistent with that posted in its workplace.
    
   NOTE:
    
   Neither the Commission, nor any of its employees, shall be responsible for creating, modifying, verifying, updating, and/or submitting any PDF file related to this new law, nor shall any Commission employee be made available to any employer for such purposes.
    
    
2. The employer must then submit the PDF - as an attachment - to the following Commission email address:
    
   wcc.employer.pdf.submission@ct.gov
    
   When submitting its PDF file, the employer must include the phrase "Employer PDF Submission" in the email subject line.
    
   NOTE:
    
   No PDF file shall be accepted by the Commission by postal mail, or by any other method, other than electronic submission to the email address listed above.
   
   Any PDF file sent to a different email address at the Commission, other than the one listed above, shall not be processed by the Commission or by any of its employees.
    
    
3. Once received at the email address listed above, the Commission will post the PDF file to its website at the following URL (website address):
    
   https://portal.ct.gov/WCC-Beta/Online-Services/Claim-Filing-Location-Search
    
    
   This page on the Commission's website contains two pieces of information:
    
   1. an active link to the email address listed above, for the convenience of employers wishing to submit claim location information to the Commission
       
   2. links to pages listing submitted PDF files, for the convenience of employees wishing to determine where to send their claims for compensation
    
   NOTE:
    
   Links to location information submitted by employers are listed by name of employer, as each employer is listed in its submitted PDF file.
    
   Neither the Commission, nor any of its employees, can second-guess what name an employer may mean if it appears in the submitted PDF file to be unclear - for this reason, it is imperative that each employer lists its name as it wishes its employees to find it on the Commission's website, and consistent with its corresponding posting in the employer's workplace.
    
    
4. If an employer changes the location it has designated for receipt of employee claims for compensation, it is the employer's sole responsibility to update its posting in the workplace and to submit an update to its corresponding information posted on the Commission's website by:
    
   1. creating a new PDF file, according to the instructions above
       
   2. verifying the information in the new PDF file is consistent with that posted in the workplace
       
   3. submitting the new PDF file to the Commission using the link listed above, emailing the file as an attachment, and including the words "EMPLOYER PDF UPDATE" in the subject line

Where to Read the New Law

Public Act 17-141 is available to read, in its entirety, on the Connecticut General Assembly website:

  https://www.cga.ct.gov/2017/act/pa/pdf/2017PA-00141-R00HB-07132-PA.pdf

Where to Get Help

If you have questions about this or any other workers' compensation-related matter, you may call the Commission's Education Services unit at 1-800-223-WORK (in CT only) or (860) 493-1534.