Bill
HF 673
HF 673 would base weekly workers’ comp benefits on total earnings (incl. overtime) and apply a yearly SSA-based COLA to PTD and death benefits.
HF 673 — Summary
Overview
HF 673 is a bill introduced on February 28, 2025, and referred to the Labor and Workforce committee. The bill would reform how weekly workers’ compensation benefits are calculated by including an employee’s overtime and premium pay in earnings used to determine benefit amounts, and it would establish an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for certain benefits. Technical corrections are also included to improve clarity.
What the bill would do
- Include overtime and premium pay in weekly earnings: When calculating the amount of weekly workers’ compensation benefits, the employee’s earnings would now include overtime and premium pay, rather than excluding these earnings.
- Annual cost-of-living adjustment: The bill directs that weekly workers’ compensation benefits payable for permanent total disability (PTD) or death benefits increase on January 1 of each year by a percentage equal to the SSA cost-of-living adjustment made in December of the immediately preceding year. This applies to compensation that becomes due in the new year.
- Technical corrections for clarity: The bill makes clarifying edits, including removing an unnumbered paragraph and adjusting language for precision.
Key provisions in detail
- Calculation basis: The weekly benefit calculation would base the amount on an employee’s total earnings, now including overtime and premium pay.
- COLA mechanism: For PTD and death benefits, the annual increase is tied to the SSA’s December COLA, applied to compensation due during the following year (January 1 adjustment each year).
- Clarifications: Technical corrections are included to remove an unnumbered paragraph and to enhance readability and consistency.
Who is affected
- Workers receiving weekly workers’ compensation benefits, including those receiving PTD and survivors entitled to death benefits.
- Employers and insurers administering workers’ compensation benefits, as calculations and annual adjustments would change.
- The state workers’ compensation program and related agencies charged with benefit administration.
Procedural and timeline notes
- Status: Introduced and referred to the Labor and Workforce committee on February 28, 2025.
- No explicit effective date is provided in the introduced text; the COLA mechanism references SSA’s December preceding-year decision, with annual adjustments on January 1 for benefits due that year.
Sponsors
- Primary sponsors include Wilburn, Ehlert, Nielsen, B. Meyer, James, Croken, Scholten, Wessel-Kroeschell, R. Johnson, Levin, Srinivas, Bagniewski, Olson, Madison, Kressig, Cooling, and Amos Jr.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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