US Department of Labor Urges Major Changes in the Nation's Workers' Compensation System

As The Path to Federalization of the US workers' compensation system broadens, the US Department of Labor has published a report urging expansion of the Federal role in reforming the entire patchwork of state systems. As the Presidential Election Cycle moves ahead, the ultimate outcome will impact the the nation's struggling workers' compensation scheme. Based on historical statements both "Hillarycare" or "Trump Medical," (lead by his advisor, Former Speaker Newt Gingrich,  will focus on this issue. See  my prior blog posts below.

Walker Says He'll Sign Right-to-Work

Wisconsin Gvernor Scott Walker continue to battle workers' rights as the 2016 Presidential campaign cycle draws closer.Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from www.nationaljournal.com

The controversial measure will incense unions and could bolster Walker's profile among Republicans as he weighs a 2016 presidential bid.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said this week that he will sign right-to-work legislation if it gets to his desk.

In a statement issued Friday, Walker press secretary Laurel Patrick said: "Governor Walker continues to focus on budget priorities to grow our economy and to streamline state government. With that said, Governor Walker co-sponsored right-to-work legislation as a lawmaker and supports the policy. If this bill makes it to his desk, Governor Walker will sign it into law."

Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, a Republican, also said in a radio interview Friday that he is "confident" Walker will sign a right-to-work bill if it gets to his desk.

In an interview with WTMJ-FM Friday morning, Fitzgerald said: "Behind the scenes, the governor has been supportive of the idea that, 'Listen, if you guys really think you can get this through in a form that accomplishes what we probably want to do with right-to-work, then you know I'll sign it.'"

Fitzgerald said a finalized version of the bill will be out Friday afternoon, and Republican legislative leaders expect to see it passed by the upper chamber by next Thursday at the latest, at which point it will move to the state Assembly, where Speaker Robin Voss has already expressed his support. Republicans...

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GOP Chairmen Offer Alternative To Health Law

Today's post was shared by Kaiser Health News and comes from kaiserhealthnews.org

Key GOP chairmen from the Senate and House plan to unveil a blueprint Thursday for repealing the health law and replacing it with a proposal the lawmakers said would reduce health care costs, improve quality and expand coverage.

The measure retains many elements of a proposal Republican Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah and Richard Burr of North Carolina released a year ago with former Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. That proposal did not get traction, but the senators are pushing it again and now are working with House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) .
 (Photo by T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images

“Our plan allows patients to make health care decisions for themselves – without a maze of mandates, fines and taxes,” Hatch, who chairs the Finance panel, said in a press release. “This plan is achievable, and above all, fiscally sustainable.” Burr heads the Select Committee on Intelligence.

With the GOP controlling both houses of Congress this year, Republicans are continuing their fight against the health law. The House voted Tuesday to repeal it, although Republicans are not expected to garner enough votes to override the veto that President Barack Obama has promised if the bill passes Congress. At the same time, Republicans have stepped up their interest in possible alternatives to the health law....


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Republican Lawmakers Set To Unveil Health Law Replacement Plan

Health care is a known unknown in the future of workers' compensation. If the Scott Walker's Wisconsin plan to dismantle workers' compensation is implemented, will that lead to more uninsured workers, or a merger into a universal health care program? Will it be a step backward to the 1994 Contract With America and the Newt Gingrich plan to eliminate workers' altogether? The debate continues as the 2016 national election cycle continues to frame the issues. Today's post was shared by Kaiser Health News and comes from kaiserhealthnews.org

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton declined to give details on the plan. Some Republicans are pushing tax credits and deductions for health care, and others are pushing the idea of "portable" health coverage -- the ability to take your insurance from job to job. The Associated Press: GOP Lawmakers Ready A Plan To Replace Obama Health Care Law A Republican House committee chairman says he and two GOP senators are preparing to release a plan for replacing President Barack Obama's health care law. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton declined to discuss details Tuesday, but said the proposal will give Republicans a proposal that they can stand behind. The Michigan Republican said he, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah and Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina will unveil their proposal Thursday. (2/3) The Fiscal Times: New GOP Congress Develops Alternate Health Plans House lawmakers are planning to vote for a 60th time today to repeal the president’s health care law – a vote that’s legislatively pointless but politically symbolic. Many of the 47 GOP freshmen who were elected last November won at least in part because their constituents were anti-Obamacare. (Ehley, 2/3)

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Newt Gingrich Is Back: Now Wants To Protect Workers From Unions

Today's post is shared from washingtonpost.com/

On Election Day, voters didn’t just rebel against President Obama. There was another pattern in the candidates they chose: Across the country, they picked pols who explicitly supported individual employee rights.

This wasn’t just a canned part of every Republican’s platform. Govs. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Rick Snyder of Michigan, for instance, both won reelection after pushing through significant employee-friendly reforms in their first terms. Even in deep-blue Illinois, Republican Bruce Rauner campaigned on a platform to give state employees the right to decide for themselves whether to join a union.

Pro-employee rights candidates now hold majorities in both the U.S. House and Senate, and it’s time for Congress to deliver the pro-employee agenda that has gained so much momentum in the states. Here’s how members can enhance employee rights in the workplace.

The best legislative vehicle for advancing those rights is the Employee Rights Act (ERA). Led by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), the ERA has 29 co-sponsors in the Senate and more than 100 in the House. It’s the most significant rewrite of the National Labor Relations Act in decades, with a twist: Instead of the gridlock that comes with trying to rig labor law to benefit either unions or employers, it focuses squarely on the rights of the employees. (All of the law’s provisions can be viewed at EmployeeRightsAct.com.)

Take...
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Sep 25, 2008

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Workers' Compensation: Common Themes, The Green ...

May 11, 2011

Common themes of a single payer medical system are emerging. History can repeat itself. The announcement by Newt Gingrich to run for the presidency in 2012, and the anticipated signing of the Vermont Single Payer ...

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Gingrich: Workers' Compensation is History

Dec 07, 2011

The NY Times reports today that presidential hopeful, Newt Gingrich is taking the lead in the Iowa state Caucus poles. Over the past years, during his absence from Washington politics, Gingrich has been involved in lobbying ...

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Gingrich Calls for More Child Labor, Calls Laws "Stupid"

Nov 22, 2011

Newt Gingrich's poll numbers are soaring for the US Presidential nomination. He has announced that he will offer radical proposals including the elimination of child labor laws. For decades child labor laws and penalties have ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Jeb Bush Gives Party Something to Think About

The theme of an anti-worker candidate is shared in this article. Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from www.nytimes.com

As governor of Florida, Jeb Bush flew in Ivy League social scientists for daylong seminars with his staff and carved out time for immersive brainstorming sessions he called “think weeks.” A voracious reader, he maintains a queue of 25 volumes on his Kindle (George Gilder’s “Knowledge and Power” among them, he said) and routinely sends fan mail to his favorite authors. A self-described nerd, he is known to travel with policy journals and send all-hours inquiries to think tanks. (A sample Bush question: What are the top five ways to achieve 4 percent economic growth?) As Mr. Bush, 61, weighs whether to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, he is dogged by fears of voter exhaustion with a family name indelibly linked to his older brother, a self-assured Texan who prized instinct over expertise and once acknowledged a lack of interest in slogging through long books. But in ways big and small, deliberate or subconscious, the younger Mr. Bush seems to have defined himself as the anti-George W. Bush: an intellectual in search of new ideas, a serial consulter of outsiders who relishes animated debate and a probing manager who eagerly burrows into the bureaucratic details. Allies said that reputation — as what the Republican strategist Karl Rove called the “deepest thinker on our side” — could prove vital in selling Mr. Bush as a presidential candidate to an electorate still scarred by George W. Bush’s legacy...

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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

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Republicans Tighten Grip on Debates in 2016 Race

The modification of The Affordable Care Act will most likely be a major platform of the Republican National Convention. The staggering cost of medical care in the workers' compensation delivery system is an issue that will potentially be addressed through national legislation over the next political Administration. This dynamic may cause strange results as corporate America redesign workers' compensation programs.

Today's post was shared by The New York Times and comes from www.nytimes.com

MEMPHIS — The Republican National Committee moved Friday to seize control of the presidential primary debates in 2016, another step in a coordinated effort by the party establishment to reshape the nominating process. Committee members overwhelmingly passed a measure that would penalize any presidential candidate who participated in a debate not sanctioned by the national party, by limiting their participation in subsequent committee-sanctioned forums. The move represents the party’s effort to reduce the number of debates and assert control over how they are staged. In making the case for adopting the new rule, party officials repeatedly criticized the moderators and format of the 2012 primary debates, appealing to the suspicions that many Republican activists have about the mainstream news media. “The liberal media doesn’t deserve to be in the driver’s seat,” said the committee’s chairman, Reince Priebus, addressing committee members here at their spring meeting. Such rhetoric makes taking over the debates easier to sell to the committee’s more conservative members. But what party leaders are principally concerned about is reducing the number of debates to avoid a repeat of the 2012 campaign when a series of insurgent candidates used the forums — 20 in all — to draw attention to their candidacies. Some party leaders say they believe that the number of debates pushed Mitt Romney to the right in a way that contributed...

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Missing Ingredient on Minimum Wage: A Motivated G.O.P.

Today's post was shared by The New York Times and comes from www.nytimes.com

Photo WASHINGTON — Each of the three previous presidents — two Republicans, one Democrat — signed an increase in the federal minimum wage. Given Mr. Obama’s emphasis on income inequality, and the popularity of an increase in opinion polls, you would think he would. But the story of recent increases underscores the indispensable ingredient he so far lacks: a Republican leader strongly motivated to make a deal over the party’s philosophical objections. In 1989, it was a new Republican in the White House. President George Bush, while campaigning to succeed Ronald Reagan, had promised “a kinder, gentler America.” The Democrats then controlling both houses of Congress set out to take him up on it. Mr. Bush drove a hard bargain on the minimum wage. He vetoed the first version Congress sent on grounds that it raised the wage by 30 cents an hour too much. But he eventually accepted a two-stage increase to $4.25 an hour on the condition that lawmakers include a lower “training wage” for teenagers. Photo President Bill Clinton and the Republican former Senate leader Trent Lott in 2009, 13 years after they forged agreement on a minimum-wage increase. In 1996, it was a new Republican Senate leader. Trent Lott took over after Bob Dole, then running for president against the incumbent Democrat, Bill Clinton, resigned his Senate seat. Mr. Clinton, who had battled fiercely with the House speaker, Newt Gingrich, and Mr. Dole,...

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The Affordable Care Act, brought to you by ……… the Republicans!

Many might now welcome a Nixon ticket.

Today's post comes from guest author Jay Causey, from Causey Law Firm.

     Looking for information in the media that is supportive of the nation’s transition to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka “Obamacare?”  At the moment Republican and right wing noise is drowning out much of the lower–decibel cheerleading by the Administration on why this is a good thing.

In 1974, Pres. Richard Nixon proposed what is essentially the 2010 healthcare act – all but the smallest employers would provide medical insurance to their employees or pay a penalty, expansion of Medicaid would insure the poor, and subsidies would be provided to low–income citizens and small employers.

     In a recent op-ed piece, former Secretary of Labor under President Clinton and leading economic expert, now at the University of California, Berkeley, Robert Reich summed up the history of the origin of “Obamacare,” pointing out the irony of the right wing’s fuss over it.
     In 1974, Pres. Richard Nixon proposed what is essentially the 2010 healthcare act – all but the smallest employers would provide medical insurance to their employees or pay a penalty, expansion of Medicaid would insure the poor, and subsidies would be provided to low–income citizens and small employers. While private insurers liked this plan, Democrats favored a system more like Social Security and Medicare, so there was no consensus.
     Fast-forward to 1989, and the right–leaning Heritage Foundation proposed a plan that would mandate all households obtaining adequate insurance. This plan worked its way into several bills introduced by Republicans in 1993, supported by Senators Hatch (R–Utah) and Grassley (R–Iowa), along with subsequent Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, all now vocal opponents of the ACA.
     When in 2004 Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney made the original Nixon plan the law in his state, with the same mandate to buy private insurance, he said, “we got the idea of an individual mandate from Newt Gingrich, and he got it from the Heritage Foundation.”
     Health insurance companies, now retooling their policies around the individual mandate, are jubilant about the possibilities of long–term membership growth through the insurance exchanges. These giant corporations have traditionally supported conservative and Republican politics.
     So as Reich notes – – why are Republican spending so much energy trying to sabotage the ACA, and act they designed and about which a huge sector of their patrons are wildly enthusiastic? The answer: it is the singular achievement of the Obama Administration, the head of which is still considered by a large segment of the right to Illegitimately occupy the White House.
     Reich goes on to observe that had the Democrats prevailed on the idea of a system built on the Social Security and Medicare model – – cheaper, simpler, and more widely accepted by the citizenry – – Republicans would nevertheless be making the same noise.

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Boston Globe: Teen Work Related Injuries a “Major Problem”

Today's post comes from Deborah Kohl from Deborah G. Kohl Law Offices of Massachusetts. 

A recent article published in the Boston Globe cites injuries to teenagers are, “A major problem,” according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The article can be found here. The article further goes on to state that rules are often “flouted” for minors. The majority of injuries to teenagers take place in retail jobs or those in the the food preparation and service industry.

The article reports that the injuries are often serious ones such as cuts from deli/meat slicers and back/neck pain as a result heavy lifting in service and landscaping jobs. The article also reported, “One local teen, who asked not to be identified fearing retaliation from his boss, described going onto a highway to retrieve supermarket carts.” Everyone, regardless of age, has the right to expect nothing less than a safe working environment.

If you are injured at work, do not hesitate to immediately report the injury to your employer. If you feel that your rights have been violated with respect to an injury you sustained on the job, please contact us to discuss your situation.

Read more abut child labor.

US Dept of Labor Combats Child Labor in Global Supply Chain

Dec 14, 2012

The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today introduced Reducing Child Labor and Forced Labor: A Toolkit for Responsible Businesses, the first guide developed by the U.S. government to help ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Workers' Compensation: Child Labor

Sep 14, 2012

The US Library of Congress has just posted digital images o child labor that are in it s collection. Workers' Compensation benefits are but one instance that enforce penalties when child labor laws are not followed.

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Workers' Compensation: Bangladesh Garment Factory Fire: Another ...

Jan 03, 2013

Other reforms included workplace safety regulations, child labor laws, and enhanced fire inspections, among others. There is a growing effort by worker groups to demand safety reforms in Bangladesh where factory fires have ...

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Workers' Compensation: Gingrich Calls for More Child Labor, Calls ...

Nov 22, 2011

He has announced that he will offer radical proposals including the elimination of child labor laws. For decades child labor laws and penalties have been integrated into state workers' compensation acts acting as a safety ...

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US Dept of Labor Combats Child Labor in Global Supply Chain

The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today introduced Reducing Child Labor and Forced Labor: A Toolkit for Responsible Businesses, the first guide developed by the U.S. government to help businesses combat child labor and forced labor in their global supply chains.

"Encouraging businesses to reduce child and forced labor in their supply chains helps advance fundamental human rights that are at the core of worker dignity, whether here in the U.S. or abroad," Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said in a video message announcing the toolkit.

Many jurisdiction levy fines against employers when children are injured and are have been working in violation of child labor laws.

The free, easy-to-use toolkit was unveiled during an event at Labor Department headquarters for representatives of government, industry, labor and civil society organizations that are at the forefront of efforts to prevent labor abuses in the production of goods. Speakers included Carol Pier, acting deputy undersecretary of ILAB; Eric Biel, acting associate deputy undersecretary of ILAB; and David Abramowitz, vice president of policy and government relations at Humanity United.

The toolkit highlights the need for a social compliance program that integrates a company's policies and practices to ensure that the company addresses child labor and forced labor throughout its supply chain. It provides practical, step-by-step guidance on eight critical elements that will be helpful for companies that do not have a social compliance system in place or those needing to strengthen existing systems. An integrated social compliance system includes: engaging stakeholders and partners, assessing risks and impacts, developing a code of conduct, communicating and training across the supply chain, monitoring compliance, remediating violations, independent review and reporting performance.

ILAB created the toolkit as part of its responsibility under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005. To access the toolkit, visit
http://www.dol.gov/ChildLaborBusinessToolkit. More information about ILAB and its programs is available athttp://www.dol.gov/ilab.

Read More about "Child Labor" and Workers' Compensation

Workers' Compensation: Child Labor

Sep 14, 2012

The US Library of Congress has just posted digital images o child labor that are in it s collection. Workers' Compensation benefits are but one instance that enforce penalties when child labor laws are not followed.

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Workers' Compensation: Gingrich Calls for More Child Labor, Calls ...

Nov 22, 2011

He has announced that he will offer radical proposals including the elimination of child labor laws. For decades child labor laws and penalties have been integrated into state workers' compensation acts acting as a safety ...

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Workers' Compensation: Investigations of Foxconn Claimed to be a ...

Mar 06, 2012

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Workers' Compensation: Do We Need Another Teddy Roosevelt?

May 05, 2011

Eventually he enacted three new laws in these areas: (1) a re-enacted Federal Employers' Liability Act, (2) the Workmans Compensation Act for federal employees, and (3) the Child Labor Act for the District of Columbia.

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Workers' Compensation Jeopardy: Romney and Medical Costs

Mitt Romney

Planned changes by Mitt Romney to Medicare and Medicaid will have a dire effect on the regulations of the future cost of workers’ compensation medical treatment. Proposed changes to the Federal program will indirectly impact the patchwork of workers' compensation programs by removing federally mandated fee regulation embraced under Obamacare.

Directly or indirectly, most workers' compensation programs have medical treatment and pharmaceutical pricing costs that are geared to Federal payment schedules regulated by the Medicare and Medicaid systems. Additionally, the Medicare Secondary Payer Act mandates reimbursement to the Federal, and State administered, and in many instances the Federal costs are less than the customary payments under workers’ compensation systems. Therefore the Federal programs, even if conditionally paid, result in lower payments eventually by employers and workers' compensattion insurance companies who in term are required to reimburse the Federal agency.

Additionally, the elimination of the Federal controls, that put a lid on the cost of benefits, would adversely affect the workers' compensation programs by creating havoc by eliminating the certainty of reduced costs, especially where future costs are concerned, ie. catastrophic care scenarios and latent diseases, ie. asbestosis.

Paul Krugman (NYTimes) points out, “But one thing is clear: If he [Romney] wins, Medicaid — which now covers more than 50 million Americans, and which President Obama would expand further as part of his health reform — will face savage cuts. Estimates suggest that a Romney victory would deny health insurance to about 45 million people who would have coverage if he lost, with two-thirds of that difference due to the assault on Medicaid.”

The Romney agenda to dismantle the present medical benefit program will only further jeopardize the economic stability of the nation’s workers’ compensation system. 

....
Jon L.Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson). 
Read More About Romney and Medical Care

Workers' Compensation: Romney, Regulation & Risk of Cancer

Oct 07, 2012

The Chemical Lobby, and those who advocate of their behalf for less regulation, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney are now advocating for less regulation and the elimination of the semi-annual publication The ...

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Workers' Compensation: Mitt Romney Plans to Cut Benefits to ...

Dec 26, 2011

"Romney and his aides have designed his rhetoric to define pretty much all spending on entitlements, including provisions for the injured, unemployed, sick, disabled or elderly as benefits to the poor who, Romney implies, are ...

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Merit-Based Workers Compensation: The Romney-Gingrich Plan

Feb 01, 2012

While both leading Republican candidates are throwing darts at each other on many points, the basic philosophy of both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich is to extinguish the so-called "entitlement society." They claim Barack ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Clint Eastwood at the 2012 Republican National Convention

Sep 04, 2012

Mr. Eastwood is a former businessman and, according to Republican nominee Mitt Romney, that is an essential qualification for President. So maybe that's why Eastwood was given such a prominent role before Romney ...

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Workers' Compensation: Are Second Injury Funds Going to be History Soon?

As the Second Injury Fund debate in Missouri becomes more heated,  one must consider the underlying issues challenging its existence. Whatever the outcome, injured workers being denied benefits ordered by judgment should not he held hostage to political motivations.

See Workers' Compensation: Are Second Injury Funds Going to be History Soon?

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Workers Compensation Is Quietly Under Attack in America

Guest Blog
by Steve Cooper*

As the economy crawls out of the dumps and more people return to the job site, a strong workers compensation environment is as important as ever. Unfortunately, workers comp appears to be under quiet attack in many states.

In Virginia, a law aimed at stopping Virginia dock workers from “double-dipping” may actually leave longshoremen more vulnerable than workers doing much safer work. HB153 is making its way through assembly and has the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) concerned:

“Why in the world should a Virginia harbor worker be denied benefits that are provided for other Virginia citizens who work in a business across the street from the harbor?” said Deborah C. Waters, general counsel for the longshoremen’s union.

Arthur W. Moye Jr., executive vice president of the Virginia Maritime Association, which represents more than 400 member organizations employing more than 70,000 workers in port-related jobs, said the primary reason for seeking the legislation was duplication.

Harbor workers are the only employees in the state who can seek workers’ compensation coverage under both state and federal programs, he said. Most workers in Virginia are eligible for coverage only under the state program.

“We feel the federal act covers the needs of an injured worker and covers it in a far superior way than the Virginia state act does,” Moye said.

There are differing opinions about this bill, however. The sticking point is the limitation on what the federal act covers. Worker representatives feel it is hardly sufficient, especially for a worker faced with a serious injury such as a lost limb or a family incurring a costly funeral. It is difficult to classify something as “double-dipping” when the first “dip” doesn’t do enough. Moreover, “double-dipping” is prohibited, making the new law appear obsolete on arrival:

Today, injured maritime workers in Virginia, like those in some other states, are covered under the state’s workers’ compensation program as well as two federal programs: the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act and the Merchant Marine Act, or Jones Act, which applies only to members of crews of vessels under way.

Under the current arrangement, an injured shipyard worker can file claims under the state and federal longshore-act program, though the laws prohibit “double-dipping.”

“There’s a lot of things that the state act does that the longshore act doesn’t cover,” said Stephen Harper, a Richmond attorney and chairman of the workers’ comp section of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association.

In the event of a fatal injury, for example, the state program offers the family of the victim a $10,000 funeral benefit plus $1,000 in transportation costs, Harper said.

Under the federal program, the maximum funeral benefit is $3,000.

Under the state and federal plans, Harper said, if a worker suffers a permanent injury, such as a crushed ankle, that prevents him from returning to his old job, he is eligible for compensation for a certain period of time, based on a doctor’s evaluation of the degree of impairment.

In most cases, once the payment is made under the federal programs, the insurer’s obligation ends. Through the state workers’ comp program, however, benefits can last as long as 500 weeks, or 9-1/2 years.

“They’re putting the longshore people in a much, much worse situation than the guy working down the street at Walmart,” Harper said. “The same injury, the guy down at Walmart may be able to get lost wages because of that ankle fusion for 9-1/2 years, potentially, but under the longshore act it could be a lot less.”

In Kansas, House Bill 2531 is poised to diminish workers comp as well. The law changes how those appointed to hear workers comp cases are selected. It is alleged that the new selection process skews anti-worker:

Such judges are now chosen by a panel consisting of one member picked by the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and one picked by the Kansas AFL-CIO. The bill would use a seven-member panel composed of the state labor secretary, a person from an employee organization chosen by the labor secretary, and representatives of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Businesses, Kansas AFL-CIO, Kansas State Council of the Society of Human Resource Management and Kansas Self-Insurers Association. More people at the table may be a good idea, but the proposed lineup is hardly rich with employee representation.

In Pennsylvania, employers successfully won a 5.7% decrease in workers comp funding this week:

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) recently approved a 5.7 percent overall decrease in workers’ compensation costs. The rate cuts will result in $160 million in savings for Pennsylvania employers, the department estimates.

“At a time when many are feeling a financial pinch and doing more with less, it is a very hopeful sign that the business community may now be able to pay less in workers’ compensation insurance premiums,” said Insurance Commissioner Mike Consedine.

The article makes no mention of the impact this could have on workers, but does suggest that Pennsylvania employers are given an even larger discount when they display superior safety practices:

Businesses enrolled in the Certified Workplace Safety Committee program of Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) receive an additional 5 percent discount. Currently 9,652 businesses have certified safety committees. Participating businesses have realized insurance premium reductions totaling $432.8 million since the program began, DOLI reports. “Pennsylvania employers are able to benefit from the outstanding job they are doing to provide safer workplaces,” said Labor Secretary Julia Hearthway.

In Wyoming, nearly $1,000,000 in workers compensation has gone unpaid, according to the WyoFile:

Did you know; of Wyoming’s 18,228 employers 1,212 of them are delinquent on their Wyoming Workers’ Compensation premiums — to the tune of $943,498.73, according to state officials? That’s 6.6 percent of Wyoming’s employers who pay into Wyoming Workers’ Compensation — delinquent. $1 million. Yet, those delinquent employers still enjoy legal immunity for their own proven negligence in a worker injury/death — because that’s part of the compromise of workers’ compensation?

Employees in Wyoming do not enjoy the same leniency when it comes to delinquency. If an injured worker files 1 day late, no case, no benefits. No matter.

To make matters worse, workers compensation legislation can often be misleading. In Missouri, workers comp was recently “expanded” to include many job-related diseases. What this means is that the state is now on the hook, rather than businesses, for harm done to employees by employers. This appears to be a win for workers on the surface, but is actually a Republican-driven move aimed at making Missouri more “business friendly”:

In a move that Republicans contend will make Missouri more attractive to businesses, the state Senate has approved legislation to expand the workers’ compensation program.

The measure, SB572, approved with a largely party-line 28-6 vote, would cover occupational diseases under the workers’ compensation program — freeing businesses from potentially costly litigation.

But this bill tucked in some very questionable caveats, including lumping together disparate diseases and the exclusion of immigrants and prisoners:

St. Louis County Democratic Sen. Tim Green drafted — but did not offer — an amendment that would have excluded occupational diseases from the compensation program. He said curable injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome aren’t similar to lethal diseases such as mesothelioma, a type of cancer that can be caused by exposure to asbestos.

“I don’t think they should be treated the same,” Green said. “Putting it back in the workers compensation system isn’t right and that’s what this bill did.”

The legislation would also prevent illegal immigrants or people who are in prison from collecting workers’ compensation benefits.

The bill is expected to breeze through the Missouri House.

A surprising bright spot is South Carolina which is attempting to make up the decrease in workers comp responsibility that business owners have witnessed since 2009:

South Carolina employers could see their workers’ compensation premiums increase next year if state regulators go along with a proposed 7.3 percent increase in the state’s loss cost rates.

The National Council on Compensation Insurance filed for the proposed increase earlier this month, making it the first such proposed increase since 2008. Most recently, the state has seen three loss cost decreases totaling 13.4 percent.

Based on 2009 and 2008 policy year data, the rate filing calls for a 5.3 percent increase in experience, a 2.2 percent increase in trend, a 0.1 percent increase in benefits, and a slight decrease of 0.4 percent in loss adjustment expenses.

Even if the current proposed rate change is approved as filed by South Carolina Acting Insurance Commissioner Gwendolyn Fuller McGriff, employers will still have seen a cumulative decrease of 7.1 percent since 2009.

On the national level, reports are emerging of a disproportionate number of workers in need of disability compensation, especially for mental illness. Typically anti-worker source The New York Post suggests that workers are grasping at safety net straws due to the country’s economic decline:

“It could be because their health really is getting worse from the stress of being out of work,” Matthew Rutledge, a research economist at Boston College, told the paper. “Or it could just be desperation — people trying to make ends meet when other safety nets just aren’t there.”

The paper said that, according to recent research by JPMorgan Chase, the government was mailing out disability checks to about 10.5 million people, including 2 million to spouses and children of disabled workers, at a cost of about $200 billion annually.

The stagnant economy has grown those ranks. About 5.3 percent of the population between the ages of 25 and 64 are collecting federal disability payments, a jump of 4.5 percent since the recession hit in 2009.

There is no question these numbers represent a drastic leap, but how our system treats the injured and disabled is not to be taken lightly. JPMorgan and The New York Post have been champions of the austerity that has been the enemy of many a necessary program from a worker standpoint. Workers compensation can ill-afford to be next on the chopping block.

Steve Cooper (E.m. Ployd) lives in Washington, DC, and is the editor of We Party Patriots. He educates union members on the benefits of social media, offering instruction on engaging on Facebook and Twitter. When not ruining his posture and finger muscles through endless computer use, Cooper is an avid chef and musician. The We Party Patriots has an active on Facebook page that is "A bold, accessible online approach to achieving the Labor Movement's goals and defeating the powers that Tea."

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