A new report from the Labor Department is recommending that lawmakers explore the possibility of federal oversight of our state workers’ compensation systems. That recommendation comes after confirming that many of our workers’ compensation programs all across the country are failing our injured workers.
As NPR and ProPublica report, the Labor Department has found that, over the last decade, state governments have passed laws that limit access to crucial workers’ comp benefits. The study was prompted by 10 lawmakers in reaction to an exhaustive investigative series by NPR and ProPublica chronicling the deterioration of these programs and the wronged injury victims left in their wake.
“Working people are at great risk of falling into poverty,” the Labor Department writes in their report, claiming that the new laws have caused a “failure of state workers’ compensation systems to provide [injured workers] with adequate benefits.”
What Can Be Done?
In its report, the Labor Department recommends that the possibility of federal intervention be explored. Establishing national standards, the report argues, would allow the federal government to step in when a particular state fails to meet the needs of its injured workers.
The report also suggests re-examining a 1972 Nixon administration commission that would create a standard for minimum workers’ compensation benefits. “In this critical area of the social safety net, the federal government has basically abdicated any responsibility,” Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, adding that our current workers’ comp programs are “really putting workers who are hurt on the job on a pathway to poverty.”
Have you been injured at work? If so, the Wax & Wax, A Law Corporation is ready to hear from you. Our dedicated and experienced Glendale workers’ compensation lawyers understand the challenges claimants face with the California workers’ compensation system. Our firm can help you face these obstacles and ensure that your claim for benefits is aggressively and compellingly put forth.
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