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Thursday 29th July 2010 10:14 AM |
Workers Compensation Advisory Council tables Sviggum proposals
3 March 2009
| ST. PAUL - The Workers Compensation Advisory Council on Monday tabled drastic changes to the workers’ compensation system proposed by Commissioner Steve Sviggum and adopted modest legislative recommendations that have the support of both labor and business. |
The 12-member group, which includes the presidents of the Minnesota AFL-CIO and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, held its final meeting to draft language for submission to the 2009 Legislature.
The council tabled several controversial recommendations from Sviggum, who as commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry oversees the state’s program to provide treatment and compensation to injured workers. Sviggum’s proposals included barring undocumented workers from getting compensation if they are injured on the job and creation of an alternative dispute resolution system that would pay injured workers more if they waive their right to use an attorney in the proceedings.
“For the time being, these have been tabled,” said Jerry Sisk, a workers’ compensation attorney who attended Monday’s meeting. “However, I anticipate, despite the fact most of these additional amendments would not pass constitutional muster, the commissioner will continue to push for these changes at a later date.”
At the meeting, the council unanimously agreed to certain proposed amendments to the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act that will need to be voted on by the Legislature. Some of these changes included:
• Rehabilitation Services: Under the changes the employer is not liable for the cost of more than six months of job placement services per rehabilitation plan, or for the cost of more than 20 hours of job placement service hours per month, unless the employer has approved the additional services in writing before they are provided.
• IMEs: Independent Medical Examinations shall not be conducted in a hotel or motel facilities.
• Penalties: An employer or insurer may not offset an overpayment of benefits against medical expenses due or payable or a penalty awarded to the employee for late payment or underpayment of benefits.
• Hearings: A workers’ compensation hearing must be held within two years unless the chief judge issues an order for a later date.
More than 124,000 workers’ compensation claims were paid in Minnesota in 2004, the most recent year for which data is available. In recent years, changes to the system have been routed through the council, which has tried to reach consensus between the interests of business and labor. Critics said Sviggum’s proposals appear to be an attempt to circumvent that process.
For more information
This article was adapted from a report on Jerry Sisk’s blog. Read more at http://compwonk.com/?p=1265
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