The bill aims to modify the compensation restrictions under the Workers' Compensation Law in Arkansas, specifically addressing the limits of compensation for both general disabilities and permanent partial disabilities resulting from workplace injuries. It introduces new provisions that establish a maximum weekly benefit of seventy percent (70%) of the injured employee's average weekly wage for disabilities or deaths occurring on or after the effective date of the act, with a cap on annual benefits set at $120,000.

Additionally, the bill revises the compensation rate for permanent partial disabilities, setting it at a maximum of seventy percent (70%) of the employee's average weekly wage for injuries occurring on or after the effective date of the act, while maintaining a minimum weekly benefit of twenty dollars. The annual salary total for these benefits is also capped at $120,000, divided by fifty-two weeks. The bill removes previous provisions that limited certain benefits to injuries occurring after January 1, 1996, and clarifies that the compensation rate for scheduled permanent injuries will align with the employee's total disability rate, excluding specific cases of amputation or total loss of use.

Statutes affected:
SB 285: 11-9-501(b), 11-9-501(d)