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Monday, July 2, 2012

The Stockton Senario: When the Municipality Goes Into Bankruptcy

Official seal of City of Stockton
Official seal of City of Stockton (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
An injured municipal employee's nightmare is when the governmental entity goes into bankruptcy and uncertainty of benefits and potential elimination of a safety net become a reality. Unfortunately the senario is now threatening to be played out in Stockton, California.


Stockton is self-insured:
"The City of Stockton is "self-insured" for workers' compensation benefits. The City pays benefits directly to injured employees rather than purchasing an insurance policy that would pay benefits.

"All employees of the City are eligible to receive workers compensation benefits if injured or made ill by their job. There is no qualification period for eligibility, such as working a minimum time period or a minimum number of hours per week. If an employee believes that he or she was injured on the job, a claim for benefits can be filed with the employee's supervisor.


Some states have backup coverage system in place to provide benefits and many do not. If the bankruptcy protection becomes a growing trend for municipalities, then the senario can become even more problematic.