Connecticut Raises Workers' Comp to 100% of AWW for Assault Victims in Education and Health Care
Public Act 26-12, signed May 11, replaces the standard 75% after-tax cap with full average-weekly-wage compensation for teachers, paraeducators, and health care workers injured in on-the-job assaults, effective October 1, 2026.
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Connecticut has enacted a new workers' compensation benefit tier for certain workers assaulted on the job, effective October 1, 2026. Public Act No. 26-12 — Substitute House Bill No. 5003, titled "An Act Concerning Workforce Development and Working Conditions in the State" — was signed by Governor Ned Lamont on May 11, 2026. Under its workers' compensation provisions, teachers, paraeducators, school-related personnel, and health care providers who cannot work after being physically or negligently assaulted in the performance of their duties will receive weekly compensation equal to 100% of their average weekly wage, with no statutory cap on the benefit amount.
The change modifies Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 568 — the Workers' Compensation Act — principally Section 31-307 and related provisions. Under the existing framework that continues to govern all other workers' compensation claims, temporary total disability benefits are calculated at approximately 75% of average weekly wage, subject to the applicable state maximum. Public Act 26-12 carves out a separate ceiling-free category specifically for the defined class of assault victims; the enhanced benefit applies for any period of partial or total incapacity attributable to the assault, according to the Connecticut Governor's Office.
The law reaches an explicitly defined occupational group. For education, it covers teachers, paraeducators, and school-related personnel employed in public kindergarten-through-grade-12 settings, and faculty and staff at public colleges and universities. For health care, it covers health care providers and related employees as defined in the act. The qualifying injury event is having been "physically or negligently assaulted" while acting within the scope of duties. The Act does not separately define either term, a gap that legal commentators have noted may generate coverage disputes about the reach of "negligent assault."
Beyond the wage replacement enhancement, the act adds two supplemental components. First, the employer or carrier must reimburse expenses reasonably incurred for medical or other services necessary as a result of the assault. Second, if the assault results in criminal proceedings, the injured worker may recover lost wages for absences required by court appearances connected to those proceedings. In both cases, absences caused by the assault or by related court appearances may not be charged against the employee's accrued sick leave, vacation time, or personal days.
Public Act 26-12 is a broad omnibus measure — spanning more than 120 pages and consolidating dozens of individual bills from the 2026 legislative session — of which the workers' compensation assault provisions are among the components most relevant to the insurance market.
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