A Time for Action

Monday, November 10, 2008 | 0

By Mark Zientz

Only three days ago it was only possible that there would be a Democrat in the White House, a majority in the House and a near filibuster proof majority of Democrats in the Senate. Today 2 out of three have come to fruition and the third is still up in the air- Go Franken!

What does this mean to the injured worker community? Nothing if you sit back and do nothing. Today, tomorrow and for the next four years, it is time for action.

I may have mentioned in this Blog the National Commission on State Workers' Compensation Laws which was created in the 1970 OSHA legislation passed and signed into law by Richard Nixon. The commission had over 50 members from all walks of life educators, union representatives, insurance executives, employers from large companies, etc. The commission reported to the president that they had reached unanimous conclusions that state workers' compensation laws were unfair and inadequate and that something must be done.

Following the publication of the report a Bill entitled The Federal Minimum Standards for State Workers' Compensation Laws was introduced in the U.S.Senate. The Bill became known as the Williams/Javits Act. Sen. Jacob Javits was one of the sponsors. Hearings were held at which testimony was taken. The attorney generals from most of the states got together and promised Congress that if left alone and not subjected to Federal minimum standards, they would do better in providing for injured workers and their families. The promise worked. The bill, SB 2008, did not pass.

Many of the states kept their promise. In Florida, for example, the 1974 Papy package of amendments to the workers' compensation law became effective October 1, 1974. It was a great leap forward for a state that had a $66.00 maximum weekly compensation benefit in 1972 to reach $112.00 in January 1976.

The promise was short lived. Nixon got into some trouble over a place called Watergate. The nation was involved in a very unpopular war in the Far East, and the "Federal Threat" went away. The states took this as a signal to return to their own selfish ways with a vengence.

Again, in Florida, every set of amendments introduced and passed by our Tallahassee gang of employer and insurance controlled legislators from 1978 to 2003 was intended to reduce benefits to injured workers and make it as hard as possible to navigate the adjudicatory system. Just imagine in a state that has grown as fast as Florida since 1978, that today we have the same number of compensation judges as in 1978! Actually we are authorized to have one additional judge, but that vacancy is not yet filled. In 2003, Jeb Bush led the Republican-controlled legislature to pass the most Draconian compensation law in the nation. Currently injured workers no longer have any benefit for permanent partial disability. After reaching maximum medical improvement they get a few weeks of reduced weekly benefits for their physical impairment and nothing more unless they qualify for permanent total disability which is very nearly impossible in most cases.

So now is the time to act. The time to let all those democratic representatives and senators and the new president know how you feel about this situation. Let them know that you want them to resurrect the minimum standards legislation and pass it in this session. The states have been using workers' compensation laws as economic weapons against each other since the 1970's to attract new industry to their states by having cheaper workers' compensation costs than the other states. They are fighting this war on the backs of injured workers and that must stop. Injured workers are the bait used to lure business. When all states have to provide the same minimum benefits, the states can lure workers with better benefits than the federal legislation requires.
The time for action is now. Get this issue on the front burner to be acted upon as soon as they fix the economy and get us out of Iraq.

<i>Mark Zientz is a Miami workers' compensation attorney certified by the Florida Bar. This column was reprinted with his permission from his blog, http://mzlaw.blogspot.com/</i>