Labor Commissioner Touts Admin. System, Wants Lawyers Out

By Bill Kidd, Central Bureau ChiefOklahoma Labor Commissioner Mark Costello (R) says his position on any changes in workers’ compensation in 2013 is simple: “If the lawyers are happy, I won’t be.”Costello has been meeting with local chambers of commerce and business groups throughout Oklahoma to spread the message that the state should switch from its current court-based workers’ compensation system to an administrative system modeled on that used by Arkansas – and possibly with elements also borrowed from Texas.Costello believes that switching to an adminis...