It’s Time to Fix the Broken Workers’ Compensation System
Oct 6, 2016 -- Posted by :Following is a statement from Debbie Berkowitz, senior fellow for worker safety and health with the National Employment Law Project:
“The National Employment Law Project applauds the U.S. Department of Labor and the National Academy of Social Insurance for convening The State Workers’ Compensation Forum. Today’s forum and a new Labor Department report highlight the deeply troubled state of the workers’ compensation system and the financial and social costs to America’s workers.
“State legislatures around the nation are engaged in a race to the bottom in their workers’ compensation laws, resulting in unfair, weak, or non-existent benefits for injured workers. As a result, employers are covering only a small percentage of the cost of workplace injuries, forcing injured workers to rely on their own savings and on taxpayer-funded programs to pay most of the costs.
“Changes in workers’ compensation over the past two decades have made it harder for injured workers to receive full benefits, which are paltry even when awarded. From the Virginia factory worker who developed carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive work sewing children’s gloves, to Jonnie Yvonne Vasquez, who suffered neck and shoulder injuries while working at a department store, to a truck driver who tragically died from a fall from his truck, workers with legitimate and serious work injuries are being denied compensation.
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