JUNEAU – Wednesday, the Alaska State Senate took a significant step forward in addressing critical shortcomings in Alaska’s Workers’ Compensation System by unanimously passing Senate Bill 147, sponsored by Senator James Kaufman, R-Anchorage. This bill improves the efficiency, fairness, and predictability of Alaska’s reemployment system, enhancing support for injured workers and fostering a more resilient workforce for zero-cost to the state.

Alaska’s current reemployment system primarily focuses on helping injured workers retrain for another career and fails to emphasize returning workers to their preferred profession. Unfortunately, this system is outdated and burdensome and falls short of meeting the needs of Alaska’s workers on their journey back to employment. In recent years, an average of 550 workers were evaluated, with slightly over 2% of workers, or 13 workers, fully finishing reemployment plans. Senate Bill 147 addresses these deficiencies.

Key provisions of SB 147 are:

• Shifts focus on return-to-work rather than retraining: Workers often want to return to their chosen, preferred profession rather than retrain for a totally new career path. Changes in SB 147 bias the reemployment system for return-to-work rather than retraining.
• Updating reimbursement rates: For situations in which retraining is required, SB 147 adjusts financial compensations to better reflect current economic realities and retraining costs. This allows injured workers to take advantage of a benefit that they pay into with every paycheck so that they can earn a dignified, comparable wage. 
• Fixes unnecessary administrative burdens: SB 147 simplifies processes and reduces bureaucratic hurdles for the division and injured workers, accelerating the path to recovery and employment.
• Improves job analysis: SB 147 modernizes and clarifies responsibility for evaluating job demands and workers’ capabilities to ensure relevant and effective reemployment plans.
• Better aligns timelines and reporting requirements: SB 147 reduces administrative costs and duplicative reporting by streamlining the timelines for eligibility evaluations, reemployment plan development, and the implementation of services.

Senator James Kaufman emphasized the bill’s importance, stating, “This legislation represents a crucial step towards ensuring that injured workers in Alaska receive the support and resources they need to recover and return to work. By modernizing our Workers’ Compensation System, we are not only safeguarding the well-being of our workforce but also strengthening our economy and helping to close our workforce gap.”

Furthermore, Senator Kaufman underscored that efforts to improve the delivery of services for zero cost to the state are aplenty in our state government “This is one opportunity that I’m excited to capitalize upon. Investing in Alaska’s workforce, prioritizing the needs of Alaskan workers, and seeking efficiencies is a great improvement.”

Senate Bill 147 moves to the Alaska House of Representatives for consideration. As a broadly supported bipartisan bill that improves the efficiency of state government, the hope is that SB 147 carries its momentum through the full legislature. 

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