Hagåtña, Guam – Acting Governor Joshua Tenorio today signed into law two measures that will help improve working conditions for employees across all sectors of our island.
- Substitute Bill 200-35 – Senator Regine Biscoe Lee – Updates Guam’s 30-year old Worker’s Compensation law and authorizes alternative medical facilities for injured employees. It is now Public Law 35-65.
- Bill 201-35 – Senator Regine Biscoe Lee – Amends the composition of the Worker’s Compensation Commission and allows commission members to appear and participate in meetings and hearings by telephone or video. It is now Public Law 35-66.
“I want to thank Senator Lee, who has always been an advocate for working families and small businesses, for leading this effort once again. I am also grateful to her colleagues for recognizing that now was the time to act. Those receiving these benefits were injured on the job and they shouldn’t be injured twice because our government failed to adjust worker’s compensation rates after more than 30 years,” said Acting Governor Tenorio.
“For a generation our injured workers haven’t gotten what they’re due, but that ends today,” said Senator Lee. “This needed lifeline is now going to be automatically updated whenever the minimum wage rises—an incremental process that is fair to both employer and employee. These new laws show the transformative good that happens when active stakeholders are met by a legislative will to do what’s right.”