Lawmakers and Labor Leaders Seek Support for Workers Struggling with Addiction

A group of Senate Democrats and Connecticut labor leaders called Tuesday for substance use disorders to be considered occupational hazards in some fields in an effort to provide support for impacted workers while reducing turnover-related costs for employers.

Sen. Saud Anwar, a South Windsor Democrat who co-chairs the legislature’s Public Health Committee, pitched the change during an afternoon press conference in the Legislative Office Building.

Backed by Sen. Jan Hochadel, D-Meriden, and representatives of several labor unions, Anwar described a link between common work-related injuries and addictions that often result from use of pain management drugs.

“They take pain medicines to try to continue to do their shift and whatever work is in front of them,” Anwar, a medical doctor, said. “This is a vicious cycle and before you know it they are dependent on these medications — highly addictive chemicals — and then they are seeking heroin and things that they can get relatively, unfortunately, more easy access to.”

Moving these conditions under the umbrella of occupational diseases would make affected employees eligible for prevention and treatment options as well as workers compensation. Anwar and Hochadel said they hoped to see the legislature address the matter during next year’s session.

Hochadel shared the divergent stories of two teachers who struggled with substance use stemming from stresses and injuries associated with their jobs. One, who was met with a punitive response from his employer, sank deeper into addiction and eventually died. The other, who was supported by her employer, recovered, remained on the job and has now been sober for 10 years.

“These are the kind of results that we should aspire to,” Hochadel said. “Results that end with workers back on the job rather than dying in a hospital bed. We have to recognize that substance abuse is an illness and an occupational hazard.”

Workers whose jobs require them to perform strenuous and repetitive tasks are often at heightened risk of on-the-job injuries and eventual substance use disorder.

Construction workers are injured at a rate 77% higher than the national average and more than half of workers’ compensation claims involve opioid prescriptions for on-job injuries, according to the Midwest Economic Policy Institute.

Kyle Zimmer serves as the director of health & safety and director of the members assistance program for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478. During Tuesday’s press conference, he said the effort to classify substance use disorder as an occupational hazard was long overdue. Zimmer described substance use as a safety issue impacting both workers and employers.

“It’s costing labor, it’s costing management a huge amount of money for lost time worked, insurance costs, replacing somebody that is either disabled or, God forbid, a fatal injury on the job site, which has happened,” Zimmer said. “I’m sick and tired of burying fellow tradespeople.”

Posted by Hugh McQuaid

Governor Declares State of Emergency in Response to Flooding

Gov. Ned Lamont declared a state of emergency Monday as historic flooding resulted in significant infrastructure and property damage as well as at least two deaths in southwestern Connecticut.

In a press release, the governor said the declaration could help to expedite the arrival of federal resources to assist state and local crews managing the response to the severe rainfall and flash flooding responsible for extensive damage in the southwest region of the state.

“The sudden and severe flooding has caused significant damage to infrastructure in the western portion of the state, resulting in evacuations, rescues, and more than two dozen road closures that we anticipate will need to be closed for an extended period,” Lamont said.

Meanwhile, state and local officials staged a midday press conference in Oxford, where crews had been working to assist residents and visitors stranded by infrastructure damage like washed out roads and bridges.

George Temple, the town’s first selectman, reported that two residents had died after they were swept away in severe flood waters.

“This is a tragic and devastating day for Oxford,” Temple said.

State officials described extensive rescue and response efforts, including the evacuation of around 50 campers who were stranded in Southbury’s Kettletown State Park after flood waters washed out access routes.

As rescue operations began to shift to damage assessment and repair efforts, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection was working to ensure the viability of dams across the affected area, DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said.

The rainfall and subsequent flood damage fit a pattern of more extreme weather events that have become increasingly common in recent years, Dykes said.

“This is a very historic and unprecedented rainfall event and it’s consistent with the accelerating impacts of climate change,” she said.

Officials advised motorists in the area to exercise caution on local roads. Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said that at least 27 state roads were closed in the area. Road closures could increase as crews continue to evaluate infrastructure damage, he said.

Eucalitto encouraged drivers to obey all posted road closures and avoid flooded routes.

“If there are cones or barrels or caution tape up, I strongly am encouraging everyone to adhere to those signs,” he said. “Do not cross those roadways. We don’t necessarily know what is underneath the pavement. The pavement could have been undermined, the bridges could have been impacted by scouring.”

Motorists can find updates on road closures at CTroads.org.

Posted by Hugh McQuaid