Alaska House passes disability pay increase for injured public workers

The Alaska House of Representatives voted Wednesday to raise disability pay for public employees injured on the job, increasing benefits from 40% to 75% of salary after the first year while restoring health care coverage that workers currently lose when terminated due to injury.

House Bill 210 passed 40-0 after lawmakers expanded the measure beyond its original focus on peace officers and firefighters to cover all members of the Public Employees' Retirement System. Representative Chuck Kopp introduced the bill on April 30, 2025, as a narrow change aimed at public safety employees who suffer permanent, career-ending injuries. The House Labor and Commerce Committee advanced the measure February 11, 2026, after testimony from first responders and retirement system officials. The Finance Committee then broadened the bill to cover all PERS members.

Supporters said the bill addresses two effects of occupational injury: workers lose 60% of their pay while simultaneously losing their state or municipal government health insurance.

"We heard testimony from state troopers who no longer live in Alaska, who work 4 or 5 years had a completely disabling injury, lost their healthcare, were on 40% disability, and impossible to get another job," said Kopp, the bill's sponsor.

The legislation increases disability benefits from 40% to 75% of gross monthly compensation for employees who must leave their jobs due to occupational injuries, effective after the first 12 months of eligibility. Workers would immediately enter occupational rehabilitation programs and return to work once rehabilitated.

The bill also extends health care coverage to disabled employees, who under current law lose their state or municipal health plans when terminated. Actuarial analysis by Gabriel Roder Smith and Company found no solvency risk from the changes. The Public Employees' Retirement System occupational disability trust is funded at 400%, while the Teachers' Retirement System trust stands at 5,172%.

"They said there is no solvency risk if we extend healthcare to all public employees that are on a disability status," Kopp said. "They said the PERS retiree medical fund, currently at 121%, would be projected to go to 119% funded, and the TRS fund would remain at 134% with no impact."

The changes affect approximately 16 employees statewide currently in disability status under the defined contribution plan: 12 in the peace officer and firefighter category, four in other categories.

"We should show that Alaska stands behind our workforce not with 40% of their salary, not with no insurance, but with real income replacement and healthcare security," Kopp said. "That's what House Bill 210 delivers."

The bill also expands workers' compensation coverage for firefighters who develop certain cancers. The legislation removes time restrictions that previously required firefighters to develop covered cancers within a narrow window to qualify for presumptive compensation.

Before final passage, the House returned the bill to second reading to rescind and re-adopt Amendment 1, then advanced it to third reading.

The bill now moves to the Senate. If enacted, the changes would take effect immediately under an emergency clause that was adopted by unanimous consent.