Bill > S1911

This bill expands line of duty death benefits for public employees by modifying existing Massachusetts law. The bill increases the one-time death benefit payment from an unspecified previous amount to $300,000, which would be provided to the family of a public employee who dies while performing job duties as a result of an incident, accident, or act of violence. The definition of "deceased public employee" is broadened to include workers from state and county governments, public higher education institutions, municipalities, public school departments, districts, and public authorities. Additionally, the bill extends a public service scholarship program to provide educational scholarships to children and widowed spouses of these public employees who die in the line of duty, with scholarships to be awarded by a council and covering undergraduate studies at institutions of higher education in Massachusetts. The bill also replaces the term "public safety employee" with "public employee" in related statutory language, further expanding the scope of coverage for line of duty death benefits.

Budget and Finance, Labor and Employment

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S1911