We depend on state law enforcement officers to keep the rest of us safe — from running our prisons to enforcing alcohol laws. When they suffer injuries, these men and women have been able to receive their salary instead of workers’ compensation while they healed. But now many state law enforcement officers will NOT receive salary continuation, effective October 1, 2014.
It used to be that state law enforcement officials, like those who work for the Department of Corrections or the Department of Public Safety, would receive salary continuation for accidents and occupational diseases for up to two years. Now they must prove that an injury was “proximately caused by the heightened risk and special hazards directly related to the violent nature of the eligible person’s official duties” in order to receive their salaries.
We ask so much of state law enforcement officers, and we give so little. Now one more safeguard that had been in place since 1979 has been taken away.
Valerie Johnson has been representing police officers and state law enforcement officers for decades. Call Johnson & Groninger PLLC if you have questions on workers’ compensation or salary continuation.
Author Bio
Valerie Johnson
Founder
Valerie Johnson is a North Carolina personal injury and workers’ compensation attorney dedicated to helping injured and working people across the state. A board-certified specialist since 2000, she is the Immediate Past President of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice and author of North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Law: A Practical Guide to Success at Every Stage of a Claim.
