SB278 Summary

• Establishes the Public Education Employee Injury Compensation Program, Trust Fund, and Board to provide benefits to full-time public education employees injured on the job, effective October 1, 2024.

• Creates a three-member Public Education Employee Injury Compensation Board appointed by the State Superintendent of Education, PEEHIP Board of Control, and the majority employee professional organization.

• Provides injured employees with up to 90 working days of paid leave at full salary, followed by temporary or permanent disability compensation at two-thirds of salary, plus medical benefits and vocational rehabilitation consistent with the Alabama Workers' Compensation Act.

• Establishes a special trust fund in the State Treasury receiving appropriations to pay claims, benefits, administrative costs, and all program expenses with unused funds carried forward annually.

• Requires hearing officers with workers' compensation experience to adjudicate disputes using a two-year statute of limitations, with a two-deposition limit per side and discovery limited to 25 interrogatories unless good cause shown.