Photo Credit: Josh Crawford
MBA President-elect Marsha V. Kazarosian testifies in support of MBA-backed legislation increasing burial benefits covered by workers' compensation from $4,000 to $8,000.
Massachusetts Bar Association President-elect Marsha V.
Kazarosian testified Tuesday morning in support of MBA-backed
legislation increasing burial benefits covered by workers'
compensation from $4,000 to $8,000.
The Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development convened
Tuesday to hear testimony on a number of House and Senate bills
dealing with workers' compensation. Kazarosian was one of the first
to testify and explained that the legislation was long overdue as
Massachusetts lags behind many states in the amount workers'
compensation supports. The last time Massachusetts raised burial
benefits, upping them from $2,000 to $4,000, was in 1992. At the
time this was the average cost of burying a loved one; however that
cost has doubled in the 21 years since. The $8,000 sought in Senate
Bill 866 and House Bill 1698 reflects that increase in cost.
"Doubling the burial benefit to $8,000 will do much to alleviate
the financial burden for families who are faced with the shocking
and sudden death of a loved one while on the job," said Kazarosian,
during her testimony. "Support for working families should not end
when someone dies on the job; that's precisely when they need it
the most."
Family members of workplace-violence victims and representatives
from Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health
(MassCOSH) and the Massachusetts Association of Trial Attorneys
also testified in favor of the measure.
Both Senate Chairman Daniel A. Wolf (D-Harwich) and House
Chairman Thomas P. Conroy (D-Wayland) spoke in favor of the
legislation and stated that the Joint Committee has sent the
legislation out favorably in the past.