Governor Appoints Chief for Tennessee Workers' Comp Division
Abbie Hudgens will serve a six-year term at the helm of the revamped Workers' Compensation Division in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Starting July 1, Abbie Hudgens has been appointed to lead the revamped Workers' Compensation Division in the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD). Gov. Bill Haslam announced the move June 28, with Hudgens, 67, tapped to serve a six-year term.
"I want to thank Abbie for taking on this new opportunity with the workers’ compensation system in Tennessee," Haslam said. "Abbie has experience in both the public and private sectors and at the state and local levels, giving her an incredible depth of knowledge of the system. She played an integral part in shaping this reform effort, and I appreciate her willingness to serve."
Haslam's comp reform legislation, HB 194/SB 200, simplifies the state system and will allow employees to receive benefits faster and return to work sooner, according to his office's news release.
Hudgens has been with TDLWD since 2011. "I am deeply honored that Gov. Haslam has given me this opportunity to be part of the next steps in making Tennessee’s workers' compensation program better for both employees and employers," she said. "I am committed to building on the momentum we have with the passage of the reform bill to make workers' compensation an important part of why Tennessee is the best place in the Southeast to work or employ workers."
She has served as president of the national Public Risk Management Association and president of the Knoxville Risk Management Society and the Tennessee Valley Employee Benefit Council.