MCDONOUGH — Law enforcement leaders from throughout metro Atlanta joined forces Monday morning in a press conference at the Henry County Sheriff’s Office to push for changes in Georgia’s Workers’ Compensation laws for officers severely injured in the line of duty.
Currently, each agency and department handles Workers’ Compensation cases differently, but officers are not paid their full salaries if they are on Worker’s Compensation.
The proposal is to make it uniform throughout the state and for officers who are severely injury or shot in the line of duty to get 100% of their salary.
Georgia District 10 Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur, is drafting legislation and is seeking bi-partisan support for the plan.
In Henry County, officers are paid 100% of their salaries for the first seven days and then on the eighth day, Workers’ Compensation kicks in. Under Workers’ Compensation, the officer receives 60% of his or her salary, said Henry County Sheriff Reginald Scandrett.
He added that under the current system, officers are “quasi being punished” for being injured in the line of duty.
The effort to change the Workers’ Compensation laws comes months after Henry County Cpl. Daniel Podsiadly was shot in July while pursuing Andre Longmore, who claimed the lives of four Hampton residents and then wounded officers as they were trying to apprehend him in Jonesboro.
According to the HCSO, Podsiadly has faced considerable financial setbacks because of the limitations in the current Workers’ Compensation plan.
Georgia Sheriff’s Association President and Newton County Sheriff Ezell Brown pointed out that officers not only lose a percentage of their salaries but they lose out on overtime and income from part-time jobs.
“We have to continue support our officers,” he said. “It’s very important — this is an important bill. I…
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