On April 27, 2017, the Supreme Court of Kentucky declared unconstitutional the provision of Kentucky’s Workers’ Compensation Act that terminates income benefits on the date the employee qualifies for normal old-age retirement benefits. In Marshall Parker v. Webster County Coal, LLC, etal and Webster County Coal, LLC v. Marshall Parker, et al, claim number 2014-SC-000536-WC, the Supreme Court held that KRS 342.730(4) violates the Equal Protection clause.KRS 342.730(4), which was enacted with the overhaul of Kentucky’s workers’ compensation system effective 12/12/96, reads as follows:All income benefits payable pursuant to this chapter shall terminate as of the date upon which the employee qualifies for normal old-age Social Security retirement benefits under the United States Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. secs. 301 to 1397f, or two (2) years after the employee's injury or last exposure, whichever last occurs.The constitutionality of the statute had previously been upheld by the Supreme Court in 2002.

KRS 342.730(4), which was enacted with the overhaul of Kentucky’s workers’ compensation system effective 12/12/96, reads as follows: All income benefits payable pursuant to this chapter shall terminate as of the date upon which the employee qualifies for normal old-age Social Security retirement benefits under the United States Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. secs. 301 to 1397f, or two (2) years after the employee's injury or last exposure, whichever last occurs.

Some of the changes limit the duration of liability while other changes completely bar claims that would have been allowed under the previous law. Below is a summary of the major changes that will occur when the bill goes into effect, on or about July 12, 2018.Termination of Income Benefits – KRS 342.730(4)Possibly the most anticipated change brought by House Bill 2 is the legislature’s response to Parker v. Webster County Coal, LLC. The previous version of KRS 342.730(4) terminated income benefits when an employee “qualifies for normal old-age Social Security retirement benefits” or two years after the employee’s injury or last exposure, whichever occurs later.