Source: https://www.cga.ct.gov/2017/SUM/2017SUM00202-R02SB-00796-SUM.htm
Timestamp: 2018-02-21 13:03:21
Document Index: 91893210

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 81', '§ 85', '§ 22', '§ 54', '§ 8', '§ 2']

AN ACT CONCERNING THE USE OF RESPECTFUL AND PERSON-FIRST LANGUAGE
PA 17-202—sSB 796
SUMMARY: This act generally updates terminology to use “person first” language in various statutes relating to older adults and individuals with disabilities. Among other things, it substitutes the terms “person with disabilities” for “handicapped person,” “deaf and hard of hearing” for “hearing impaired,” and “older person” for “elderly person.” Additionally, the act:
1. removes the prohibition on certain older persons, disabled veterans, and individuals with disabilities working extended hours in manufacturing, mechanical, and mercantile establishments; restaurants; and various other settings (§§ 81-83);
4. designates the entire month of October as “Disability Employment Awareness Month,” instead of the first week as “National Employ the Handicapped Week” (§ 85);
6. replaces references to BESB with the Department of Rehabilitative Services (DORS) in various statutes, including those pertaining to retirement credits for state employees who are blind or visually impaired (§§ 22, 24 & 25); and
7. removes an obsolete provision that transferred certain funds and responsibilities between the Social Services and Aging departments in 2013 when the Aging Department was re-established (§ 54).
The act removes the prohibition on an employee working extended hours without consenting to do so in manufacturing, mechanical, and mercantile establishments; restaurants; and various other settings if the employee is:
Prior law limited the hours that the above employees could work, as follows:
Under prior law, handicapped persons and disabled veterans who consented to working hours that exceeded these limits had to provide written certification from a licensed physician or advanced practice registered nurse that doing so would not injure their health.
The act retains the extended work hour limits for individuals under age 18 who are not enrolled in and graduated from a secondary education institution (e.g., high school). Existing law, unchanged by the act, generally applies stricter limits to individuals under age 18 who are enrolled in such an institution.
Prior law allowed DPH to purchase, within available appropriations, wheelchairs and placement equipment for children with disabilities without going through the Department of Administrative Services' normal purchasing procedures, provided (1) the cost of an individual item did not exceed $6,500 and (2) purchases were made on the open market and, when possible, through competitive bidding.
The act instead allows DPH, or the department's contractor, to purchase medically necessary and appropriate durable medical equipment and other DPH-approved goods and services for children with disabilities. The goods and services must be identical to those covered under the state's Medicaid and HUSKY programs, and payment cannot exceed the current Medicaid payment rate for these goods and services.
By law, an occupational therapy assistant must be licensed to assist in the practice of occupational therapy under a licensed occupational therapist's supervision or consultation. The act defines “supervision” as oversight or participation by a licensed occupational therapist in an occupational therapy assistant's work. It includes:
3. a predetermined plan for emergencies, including designating an alternate licensed occupational therapist in the absence of the regular one.
PA 17-146 (§§ 8 & 12) contain the same provisions on the supervision of occupational therapy assistants and DPH medical equipment purchases for children with disabilities, respectively.
PA 17-204 (§ 2) contains a similar provision designating the entire month of October as “Disability Employment Awareness Month.”