Workers Comp Covers COVID-Related Death in Arizona

The Arizona Court of Appeals held that an office worker’s death from COVID-19 is compensable under workers’ compensation as long as the statutory requirements are met. The case is called Western Millwork v. Industrial Commission of Arizona, 2023 Ariz. App. LEXIS 396 (Ariz. App. 2023). Please note that this decision is still subject to appellate review by the Supreme Court of Arizona.

Kenneth Zerby was a design engineer working for Western Millwork in October 2020. His typical workweek was either four or five days in the company’s Phoenix office. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Western kept its employees working in the office regularly but established guidelines based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance including requiring face masks when not in one’s own office, promoting social distancing, and requiring employees to stay home when sick, according to the opinion.