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Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill giving workers' compensation to education employees stalled in Alabama House committee
Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville (right) speaks to Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence on the floor of the Alabama Senate on March 6, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Givhan's bill that would give public education employees workmen's compensation was stalled in the House Ways and Means Education Committee on March 19, 2025.(Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) A bill to extend workers' compensation benefits to public education employees stalled in an Alabama House committee last week. SB 1, sponsored by Sen. Sam Givhan, would allow full-time employees at public schools who are injured on the job to use accrued sick leave for recovery. According to the State Department of Education, public education employees earn one sick day per month. The benefit would go into effect as soon as it is passed and signed by Gov. Kay Ivey. Givhan said at a Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee meeting in February that the legislation is his top priority. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'So many people are surprised to learn that our state education employees do not have workers compensation coverage for on the job injuries,' he said on Feb. 12. 'I did want SB 1 status for this bill.' As originally filed, the legislation did not create a funding source for the benefit. The bill now creates the Public Education Employee Injury Compensation Trust Fund in the State Treasury with a startup cost of at least $15.6 million. The House committee unanimously adopted a Senate floor amendment from February that added community college employees and specified the processes for claiming the benefit. Republicans in the House Ways and Means Education Committee last week pushed for the bill to be carried over due to concerns about the differences between the proposed benefit for educators and the existing benefit for state employees. Rep. David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook, said he is supportive of the bill, but still needed more time to understand the legislation. 'I would like this to have time to have those discussions in depth rather than trying to rush into something,' Faulkner said. Faulkner also mentioned he is working on an amendment to clarify sections of the legislation on the appeals process and how it relates to physicians. Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, also supported carrying the bill over because the committee did not have the full bill. 'We can't even look at how the amendment fits in here because we only have four pages of the bill and so that to me is another reason I also would like to second the amendment just to carry it over for one more meeting,' she said. Democrats on the committee pushed for a vote. Rep. Kelvin Lawrence, D-Hayneville, said educators have gone without the benefit for too long. 'I don't know of any other profession in the state of Alabama that doesn't offer workman comps to their employees,' Lawrence said. Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile agreed with Lawrence. She said the legislators could use this week to work out concerns with the legislation. The Legislature is out this week and will reconvene on April 1. 'We can get those answers and go ahead and get this bill moving,' she said. Givhan sponsored a similar bill last session that passed the Senate but did not come out of the House. House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, a member of the committee, advocated for a vote. 'We've been dealing with this issue for a couple years now. If we're getting down to the finish line and deciding that we want to delay this and stand in the way of progress and opportunity for our educators, then shame on us,' Daniels said. 'We talk about how important this is, but our actions are not showing that.' Chairman Danny Garrett, R-Decatur, carried the bill over without a vote. 'I just want to you know appreciate the comments of everybody, but I kind of reject the idea that this is something we have to do today with a gun to our head,' Garrett said. Garrett said the bill will be 'first up' when the Legislature returns. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama Senate committee approves teachers' injury compensation bill
Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, listens to Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman speak in the chamber on Feb. 4, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The Alabama Legislature began its 2025 session on Tuesday. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) An Alabama Senate committee Wednesday approved a bill that would expand workmen's compensation to Alabama teachers. SB 1, sponsored by Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, creates the Public Education Employee Injury Compensation Program to prevent teachers from paying out-of-pocket for injuries occurring on the job. The bill also creates a governing board and a trust fund. The bill does not create a revenue source for the trust fund. A fiscal note attached to bill estimates the total cost of the program at $14.9 million a year. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'I think it's very important and it's my top priority,' Givhan said. Givhan sponsored a similar bill last session that passed the Senate but did not come out of the House. The senator said he worked with Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, to try to address the chamber's concerns, which mainly focused on mirroring language currently used for state employees' workers compensation. State employees currently receive compensation for on-the-job injuries. 'We did move more towards the model that the state employees have in terms of language set up in there,' Givhan said. Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, commended Givhan for bringing the bill again, saying it is long overdue. However, he said he wanted a bill that would give teachers sick leave upon hiring. Currently, teachers accumulate one sick day per month of employment, according to the State Department of Education. 'We've got a shortage of teachers,' Smitherman said. 'We're still trying to keep people in the profession and you know, and when you ask somebody to come out their pocket to pay for all those things.' The bill now goes to the full Senate. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
