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Thursday, February 14, 2013

Obama to Increase Workers' Compensation Benefits

President Obama announced a plan this week that will increase benefits paid to injured workers though workers' compensation insurance. Obama intends to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.00 per hour and "index" future increases.

The majority the nation's patchwork of workers' compensation systems are based on a payment scheme linked to wages. The State Average Weekly Wage (SAAW) establishes the foundation upon which temporary disability and permanent disability payments are determined. As wages increase so will benefits.

President Barack Obama
Delivering The State of The Union
White House Photo: Chuck Kennedy
A White House spokesperson announced that, "The President’s plan strengthens the middle class by making America a magnet for jobs, equipping every American with the skills they need to do those jobs, and ensuring hard work leads to a decent living."

"The President believes that no one who works fulltime should have to raise their family in poverty. But right now, a full-time minimum wage worker makes $14,500 a year – which leaves
too many families struggling to make ends meet, with a family of four with a minimum wage worker still living below the poverty line. That’s why the President is calling on Congress to raise the Federal minimum wage for working Americans in stages to $9 in 2015 and index it to inflation thereafter."

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