The Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Commission has released its annual report prepared by UConn School of Medicine on workplace illness, together with a new companion publication, Preventing Occupational Illness in Connecticut Workplaces: A Guide for Health and Safety Committees.
The report brings together the latest available 2024 data from three systems: the Bureau of Labor Statistics/Connecticut Department of Labor survey, Workers’ Compensation Commission First Reports of Injury, and the Occupational Illnesses and Injury Surveillance System, including laboratory-reported adult blood lead cases. Each system captures occupational illness differently, so the report presents them side by side rather than treating any one source as a complete count.
The three systems show both improvement and continuing concerns. From 2023 to 2024, the BLS/CTDOL estimate decreased 20% to approximately 2,800 cases, and Commission reports decreased 18% to 4,264. By contrast, combined OIISS and adult blood lead reports increased 4% to 2,345. The BLS/CTDOL illness rate fell 22.3%, from 26.9 to 20.9 cases per 10,000 workers, but Connecticut’s 2024 rate remained 26% above the national rate and ranked ninth highest among 45 states and territories with publishable data.
Commission reports of musculoskeletal disorders—the largest WCC category—fell 21%, while infectious disease reports fell 28%. OIISS showed a different pattern: physician-reported infectious diseases rose 24%, and laboratory-reported adult blood lead cases rose 13%. Over the longer term, Connecticut’s BLS occupational illness rate generally declined through 2019, rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has fallen sharply since 2022 as COVID-related reports decreased, although the 2024 rate remained above the lows recorded in 2017–2019.
“At the Commission, we see in our hearings what these numbers mean for individual workers and their families—the medical treatment, lost wages, and lasting disruption that can follow an occupational illness,” says Stephen M. Morelli, Chairperson of the Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Commission. “Releasing this report on Labor Day underscores that protecting workers requires more than documenting harm after it occurs. The new prevention guide gives joint labor-management safety and health committees practical tools to identify hazards early and act before workers become ill.”
“Occupational illness is often underrecognized, and no single reporting system captures its full burden,” says Tim Morse, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of UConn School of Medicine and UConn Health and author of the annual report and prevention guide. “The decline in overall reports and COVID-related illness is encouraging, but the data continue to show substantial musculoskeletal disease, infectious exposures, and other preventable conditions. The prevention guide is intended to help safety and health committees turn these findings into practical workplace changes.”
New prevention guide supports workplace committees
The companion prevention guide is designed for Connecticut workplace safety and health committees. It explains how joint labor-management committees can use workplace inspections, worker participation, illness and injury data, incident reviews, and action tracking to identify hazards and evaluate corrective measures.
The guide organizes practical prevention approaches around common workplace health concerns, including ergonomics and musculoskeletal disorders, hazardous chemicals, infectious disease, indoor air quality, occupational skin disease, noise and hearing loss, job stress, and Total Worker Health. It emphasizes controlling hazards at their source, strengthening worker participation, and using available training and technical resources.
The report’s Internet Resources appendix provides a curated starting point for trustworthy occupational safety and health information. It directs readers to government agencies, research organizations, training materials, hazard-specific guidance, technical tools, and other online resources covering topics such as ergonomics, chemical safety, infectious disease, indoor air quality, hearing conservation, and worker well-being.
The Who’s Who appendix serves as a Connecticut-focused directory of organizations and professionals that can help employers, workers, unions, clinicians, and safety committee members. Listings include occupational health clinics, state and federal agencies, consultation and training programs, academic centers, professional associations, worker-safety organizations, and other sources of specialized assistance.
Together, the annual surveillance report, Prevention Guide, and resource appendices are intended to help Connecticut workplaces move from recognizing occupational illness trends to preventing exposures and disease.
The report and Prevention Guide are available at: https://health.uconn.edu/occupational-environmental/consultation-and-outreach/
