Comp Study Bill In Congress Seeks Improvements For Workers

WASHINGTON--A bill in Congress to create a commission for a study of workers' compensation laws is aimed at securing change in a system that unions and others see as biased against unions, according to an analysis by a workers' comp expert.

John F. Burton, professor emeritus, School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University, who headed a federal comp study group in 1972, made his comments in an interview concerning a measure introduced by Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif.

Mr. Burton, who was chairman of a commission created during the Nixon administration to examine the same issues, said he is not surprised that the California lawmaker is proposing the measure because cries of anti-worker bias in handling workers' comp claims are loudest in California.

Given the change in the composition in Congress to Democratic control, "Representative Baca's bill has a chance of getting enacted," said Professor Burton.

In his view, the bill having strong support from the plaintiff's bar and advocates for liberalizing of the system has a greater chance of being passed than in previous Congresses.

Another factor, he mentioned, is that many unions and plaintiffs' lawyers are concerned that more states will follow California's lead and institute the reforms put in place several years ago in California by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in order to restore solvency to the state system.

The concern of worker representatives, including unions and plaintiff lawyers is that the "political situation has shifted strongly in opposition to workers' interests, and more balance is needed," Mr. Burton said.

He said he thinks that supporters of the legislation hope that "if you move this from the state level to the federal level and get this national commission to look at things, that balance will return to the system, that workers will get leverage at the national level that they have lost in most states."

The bill Rep. Baca recently introduced would authorize creation of a National Commission on State Workers' Compensation Laws.

It would establish a commission to evaluate state workers' compensation laws in order "to determine if these laws provide an adequate, prompt and equitable system of compensation and medical care for injury or death arising in the course of employment.

In introducing the bill, Rep. Baca said, "More than 35 years have passed since our government took a serious look at the effectiveness of workers' compensation laws."

"I am hopeful this legislation will bring us closer to updating and modernizing our state workers' compensation laws to ensure they remain effective in this new century," he added.

Mr. Burton explained that the background behind the bill is that California is a hotbed of activism for more balanced workers' comp laws because under Gov. Schwarzenegger reform legislation was passed that cut down benefits and established more restrictive requirements on workers' compensation claims.

He cited the changes in permanent disability benefits, the most expensive component of workers' compensation costs in most states. The reforms, he said, "substantially reduced the generosity of those benefits."

Mr. Burton added, "I think the reforms have been the greatest concerns of applicants, unions and their lawyers throughout the country. And, that is probably the most probable reason Rep. Baca has taken the lead on this."

He noted, "Over the last 15 years, there have been a number of states that have tightened the eligibility rules for workers' compensation claims."

One provision adopted by California that is stirring concern not only of unions but of employers and others involved in the claims process is a policy of apportionment, requiring doctors to determine what share of a disability claim is work-related.

"This policy has angered unions, their members and plaintiff lawyers," he said. "Employers, too, are concerned, because it is expensive and difficult to sort this out," Mr. Burton said.