How Wyoming workers' comp will handle employees' COVID-19 injury claims

As employers across Wyoming struggle to reopen and get back to business, concerns mount about potential liability from employees' exposure to COVID-19. In a special session earlier this year, the Wyoming Legislature changed the workers' compensation rules for the coronavirus, protecting both employers and employees.

Old rules

Before COVID-19, the Wyoming Workers' Compensation Act (WCA) excluded coverage for illnesses or communicable diseases unless the risk of contracting them was increased by the nature of the employment. Obviously, employees in some industries covered by workers' comp, like health care, were more readily able to show the risk of contracting a communicable disease was heightened because of the characteristics of their work.

Many employees faced an uphill battle, however, to prove an illness or communicable disease was a work-related injury because the nature of their employment didn't increase the risk of getting the affliction.

Then, COVID-19

When the Wyoming Legislature convened the special session in May to take on the challenges posed by the pandemic, the risk of workplace exposure was front and center. Ultimately, the lawmakers amended the WCA to expand coverage for COVID-19 claims and protect employers from their impact.