Like their counterparts in several other states, Georgia lawmakers have been trying to wind down the state’s second-injury fund, the workers’ compensation program designed to cover benefits for workers with previous injuries.
A bill passed by a Georgia House committee would give the fund at least another two years of life, through the end of 2025. The statute authorizing the fund, which was due to be repealed in December 2023, would remain on the books until 2027, according to House Bill 1045.
Sponsored in part by Rep. Houston Gaines, R-Athens, the bill was approved Thursday by the House Industry and Labor Committee.
A number of states established second-injury funds after World Wars I and II as a way to encourage employers to hire veterans that had suffered injuries in the conflicts. Companies were said to be reluctant to hire injured vets, concerned that a pre-existing condition could easily contribute to a subsequent incident and higher workers’ compensation costs.
In most funds, employers or insurers are assessed a small fee, usually less than 1% of their comp premiums, then the fund reimburses part of the benefits for subsequent injuries.
Georgia’s fund wasn’t created until 1977 and it “helps workers with disabilities by providing employers, who are not subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act, with incentives to hire or retain qualified workers with disabilities,” read’s the fund’s last annual report, posted in 2017.
The Georgia fund reimburses insurers and self-insured employers for indemnity benefits due after 104 weeks and for medical benefits in excess of $10,000.
It was set to be phased out by now. The last date of an injury to be eligible for the program was June 30, 2006, according to the statute. The fund’s board of trustees voted in 2019 to end assessments on employers that year, and suspended annual reporting requirements, the fund’s website explained.
Some claims remain open, however, so the fund must continue to operate, at least for another few years. As of January 2017, the last date covered by the fund’s annual reports, 1,580 claims remained open. The fund had a balance of $234 million.
Ace American Insurance Co. was reimbursed more than other carriers in 2017 – almost $350,000, the fund’s report shows. The company’s assessment that year was about $1.8 million.
Topics Legislation Georgia
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