Lawmakers File opt-out Bill Modeled after Oklahoma with Eye toward 2016 Passage

A national coalition of employers has introduced legislation in the South Carolina House of Representatives that would create an alternative to workers’ compensation similar to the Oklahoma “Option.” The ability to opt out of the workers’ compensation system exists only in Oklahoma and Texas, but the Association for Responsible Alternatives to Workers’ Compensation has sought to expand the idea to other states, beginning with Tennessee and now South Carolina. The idea is to allow employers to pay for wage replacement and medical costs associated with work injurie...