MI HB6295

Increases weekly worker's compensation benefits from 80% to 90% of after-tax average weekly wage for both total and partial disability claims.

Eliminates the requirement that employees prove disability through a multi-step process (disclosing qualifications, identifying comparable jobs, demonstrating injury prevents job performance, showing inability to obtain work); instead requires only establishing a connection between the work injury and wage loss.

Changes compensability standard to cover work injuries that "cause, contribute to, aggravate, accelerate, or worsen a symptom or pathology" regardless of preexisting conditions, broadening coverage from the previous standard requiring medically distinguishable pathology.

Adds two new specific loss categories under Section 361: serious and permanent scarring or disfigurement to face or head (52 weeks) and serious impairment of important body function (52 weeks); increases minimum benefit for specific losses from 25% to 50% of state average weekly wage.

Repeals Sections 302, 357, and 431 of the 1969 act; removes social security benefit coordination requirements and caps on benefit reductions, and modifies maximum weekly benefit rates to 150% of state average weekly wage beginning the January 1 after repeal of Section 357.