Legislative Branch Provides Protection to Municipalities from Preclusion: Requires Workers to Send Notice of Claims to Town Clerk

Public Act No. 16-112 amends Section 31-294c, which requires a municipal employee/dependent who files a claim for benefits to send a copy of the written notice of the claim (Form 30C/Form 30D) to the town clerk of the municipality where the employee works. Before the Act, written notice could be sent to almost anyone in a municipality, which created the risk of the claim not being responded to in a timely fashion. The respondent must file a Form 43 contesting a claim, or begin making full payments on a without-prejudice basis within 28 days after receiving written notice of a claim or risk of being precluded from contesting the claim. See C.G.S. § 31-294c(b).

If precluded, the municipality will likely be forced to pay for a claim to which it may have had good faith defenses. Before the Act, many municipalities failed to properly respond to notices of claims because they were not sent to the appropriate person within the municipality, which created an unnecessary costs for years to come. See Argonaut v. Town of Berlin, Superior Court, Judicial District of New Britain at New Britain, Docket No. CV-12-6017084-S (December 1, 2014, Swienton, J.). This Act will streamline the process and reduce the possibility of written notice not being responded to in a timely fashion, which is in alignment with provisions for state employees filing claims with Connecticut.

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