Several states have passed executive orders or laws that either create a presumption of workers’ compensation coverage for certain employees who contract COVID-19 or otherwise make it easier for an employee to file a workers’ compensation claim for COVID-19. WCRI has conducted a series of studies using publicly available employment data to estimate the number of workers covered in each state.

These laws and executive orders vary in the scope of workers covered, that is, which industries and/or occupations fall within the laws and executive orders. These studies give a sense of the size of employment potentially covered by the laws and orders. They do not estimate the number of workers who contract COVID-19 at work, nor do they measure the number of COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims.

The reports used data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics program. Currently the Institute has published studies for 15 states (Alaska, Arkansas, California, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Washington) and plans to publish studies for other states that have enacted a COVID-19 presumption. All the studies are complimentary.

COVID-19 Workers’ Compensation Presumption Coverage. William Monnin-Browder, Evelina Radeva, Carol A. Telles, and Rebecca Yang. December 2020–July 2021.