Promotion Not a 'New Hire Date' for Workers Comp Purposes

A Connecticut Appellate Court reversed the decision of the Compensation Review Board, which determined that a police officer hired in 1983 was not entitled to benefits under the Heart and Hypertension Act of 1996 because he was promoted to chief of police in 2010, which constituted a new hire date. The case is Gaudett v. Bridgeport Police Dep’t, 2023 Conn. App. LEXIS 84 (Conn. App. Ct. 2023).

The plaintiff, retired Bridgeport police officer Joseph L. Gaudett Jr., filed a claim pursuant to §7-433c, the Heart and Hypertension Act, to receive benefits for hypertension in February 2016. The act was passed in 1996, and only applied to those hired before 1996.