Comptroller Sean Scanlon proposed reforms to the state disability pension system in Connecticut. The system, which has been plagued by lack of oversight, doles out $130 million in annual payments to 4,200 former state employees claiming on-the-job injuries. An arbitration ruling in 1989 and a memorandum of understanding reached in 2015 limit the state’s ability to detect fraud, barring repeated inquiries into potential fraud after an initial investigation unless new evidence is presented.

Many former employees are reportedly collecting disability payments while working new jobs or failing to submit the annual surveys used to assess continued eligibility. To counteract this, Scanlon is proposing that those who fail to submit these surveys will see significant reductions in their benefits until they become current. His office will also push to revise the “suitable and comparable job standard to encourage injured workers to take other positions compatible with their physical condition.

The State Employees Retirement Commission is in charge of determining who receives a disability pension. Scanlon’s office oversees the payment of benefits. Some proposed changes will require collective bargaining; however, Scanlon senses an openness from the unions for these reforms. In response to increased flexibility in managing the program, the unions might seek higher benefits.

A recent case regarding state Sen. Paul Cicarella, who received considerable disability payments in spite of working as a wrestling coach, brought wider attention to the issue and quickened the pace of Scanlon’s proposed reforms. However, the story played a role in the timing of Scanlon’s proposed reforms rather than the content of the reforms itself.

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