How Texas' workers' comp laws endanger many workers
So how much is a disabled arm worth? Depending on whether your company is in Texas’ workers' compensation system or has bailed out, the answer could be anywhere from $100,000-plus to zilch.
Workers, however, won’t discover this injustice until they’re in dire need of medical help. Joe Becker, an Abilene trucker who herniated several discs in his back in 2012, worked for a company that had opted out of the state-run system. His benefits ended after two years, much sooner than they would have had his employer remained in the state system. Left to fend for himself, he’s now on the edge of being homeless.
Becker is one of many paying a steep price because their employer jettisoned the state’s workers comp system, according to an extensive analysis by ProPublica and NPR. Their findings, published in The Dallas Morning News last week, should give pause to other states considering similar measures.
Until recently, Texas had been the only state that didn’t mandate that companies be in the workers compensation system. Now Oklahoma allows companies to opt out, and Tennessee and South Carolina are considering similar measures. Texas lawyer Bill Minick, who runs an injured-worker consultancy called PartnerSource, is leading a national effort, along with several major companies, to get opt-out laws passed in a dozen states within the next decade.
Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20151023-editorial-how-texas-workers-comp-laws-endanger-many-workers.ece
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