House Votes Down Comp Reform

By Michael Whiteley, Eastern Bureau ChiefThe Mississippi House of Representatives voted 61 to 54 on Wednesday to defeat workers' compensation reforms that included slight increases in some benefits but shifted the burden of proof to injured workers in many claims disputes.Less than an hour after the Mississippi Senate voted to approve Senate Bill 2576, the Senate's version of the 2012 reforms, the House voted to defeat House Bill 555. Sponsors won permission to keep the bill on the House calendar while they try to secure the votes to resurrect the House bill later this week.Opponents a...