The most draconian worker's compensation law passed in a century this week

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

Let me first state that I do have empathy for employers but they have let Republicans fool them again.

Prior to this week in the state of California, if a person was injured on the job, they were under the care of the insurance company doctor for the first 30 days. This allowed the carrier's doc to determine if serious injury occurred and if it didn't and the injury was minor, the carrier's doc could release them back to work within that 30 days with no disability and the burden would be on the patient to prove they had more injury than was stated.

This new law gives total control to the carrier (but here's the hitch) for employers with more than 50 employees..so the small business gets screwed once again and larger corporations get the goodies.

This law severely limits a person's right to be represented by an attorney, rations medical care no matter how serious the injury is and leaves almost all cause for recourse with the carrier's doctor, in the hands of the carrier.

The cycle is almost complete. The progressive state laws from the early part of the past century are slowly but surely making their way on the chopping block.

But here is the catch. The governator signed a bill that capped injured worker's rights..but DOES NOT cap carriers premiums....so once again...employers are being fooled by carriers.

The ONLY TIME insurance rates have ever GONE DOWN AND STAYED down was when INUSRANCE REFORM was passed. The state of California was once again fooled by Republicans.

Before anyone says, "but the Dems voted for it too. " The choice as simple...Ahhhhnold had them over a rack..either they voted for THIS draconian bill, or they ran up against the bill Arnold got sigs for on the ballot which was twice as draconian and the ballot initiative would have energized the Republican base.

Oh....and for progressives who claim the Dem party is a sell-out...the most progressive state senator in California (and probably in all 50 states) John Burton voted for this as well.

In closing...FUCK REPUBLICANS!

[xray s]

1. We should have Medicare cover all Americans, period.

That would eliminate the need for a worker comp medical program. Then, workers comp could just focus on whether or not an injury is work related and a person should recieve pay while recovering from the injury.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

2. It wouldn't eliminate the need for retraining nor would it eliminate

the need for compensation for permanent disability.

Now, if we had a system like New Zealand where there are no torts per se for injuries but the injured person is cared for for life..it might work.

[xray s]

3. That sounds good to

Bottom line, we have to provide the medical care under a universal system, and handle the retraining and salary compensation under worker comp or some other system like New Zealand.

Too frickin' simple, isn't it? But we can't have "socialism" now, heaven forbid! We got wars to fight...that's where my tax dollars are going. Corporate welfare, si...human welfare, no.

[BostonTeaParty04]

4. the dems didn't HAVE to vote for this...

they really didn't. You are fooling yourself.

So, you got yourself a draconian wc bill.

the alternative as you say was one that was twice as draconian on a ballot for the people to decide.

Would it not have been worth it to at least DEFEAT the ballot measure through TRUTH TELLING?

Yes, fuck the republicans, but fuck everyone else who voted for this too, including sell-out dems.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

5. No they DID have to vote for it.

Their choice was to vote for this or let a bill that would have been passed via ballot initiative and millions of dollars worth of advertising. The ballot initiative was far worse and called for a section of the California constitution to be repealed as well.

As far as your comment about me fooling myself goes...I worked on policy in this state for two decades..nobody anticipated the kind of bully pulpit Arnold would have to operate from..he gets millions of dollars worth of free advertising every day as he did during the recall campaign.

I am not clear of what you mean by TRUTH TELLING to defeat the ballot, but that costs millions of dollars and the advocacy groups are hurting for cash due to being depleted during the recall.

It's hard to get the truth out without a boatload of cash.

[dfong63]

6. as long as the dems have a loser's mentality, they'll lose

Their choice was to vote for this or let a bill that would have been passed via ballot initiative and millions of dollars worth of advertising.

their choice was to fight and risk losing; or to not fight which guarantees losing.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

7. No

The choice was to fight and risk getting NO SAY AT ALL as would have happened with a ballot initiative. That IS a very important point to understand.

This bill at least did increase permanent disability for serious injuries even though it made them harder to prove.

Fighting via ballot initiative means if it withstands constitutional challenge one is stuck with it unless 3/4 of the legislature overturns it.

My only hope is that once the date (July 31st) passes for the ballot initiative, there will be some clean up legislation and some CAPS placed on carriers.

[dfong63]

8. you're assuming the ballot measure would win

The choice was to fight and risk getting NO SAY AT ALL as would have happened with a ballot initiative. That IS a very important point to understand.

nope, the a ballot measure means the voters decide. and the dems would have just as much say on that as the repubs.

and the dems would be free to put up a competing ballot measure of their own.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

9. You would need to go back and examine the legislative history

of ballot initiatives. The one with the most advertising wins. The ONLY progressive ballot initiatives to pass in California in recent history were the clean water one and one more ( I think open space but not sure) Otherwise, the ballot has been used to play off the ignorance of voters and strap us with horrible laws whether it be trying minors as adults, three strikes or a whole host of other BAD laws including the recent proposition that precluded uninsured motorists from special damages even when an accident was NOT THEIR fault.

Therefore, I respectfully disagree with your assessment.

Look at props 222 and 218. Or prop 22.

[mitchtv]

12. It would win- sadly

.

[BostonTeaParty04]

10. I could care less about DOLLARS when lives are on the line

And that's what this bill has done... put lives and livelihoods on the line.

"truth telling" Gee, don't you think that the ballot initiative measure was a PLOY to get dems to vote for the first version? Gee, the conservatives sure did save a TON of money not having to take this to the people.

You can take personal offense to what I am saying, but NO ONE is forced to vote for a really bad bill that causes direct harm to human beings. No one.

Your self-laudatory statement that you 'worked on policy in this state for two decades' means WHAT??? That no one else can weigh in on your defeatist approach to selling all of our souls to devil? Balderdash.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

11. Self lauditory...yuk yuk

No. It means as I stated above that it would have been sold to people...hook, line, sinker and whole fucking ocean as were the recall, the bond initiatives and every other hunk of shit that has come out of Arnold since he took office.

It was a PLOY with signatures in place thanks to a deal between Arnold and Costco to get the petitions signed. In order for the Dems or ANY advocacy group to get a competing ballot measure would cost millions and require hundreds of thousands of signatures..then hundreds of thousands of dollars of advertising The money isn't there.

That was the poker hand played - PASS SOMETHING or we'll ram this through. It was a FAR worse risk.

[mitchtv]

13. Sad , but true

.Let me 'laud you a bit so you can rest
Viva NSMA!

[LWolf]

16. This is frustrating on many levels.

The bill itself is so blatantly wrong; penalizing the disabled and ignoring small business. But that Arnold is able to use star power and star dollars to threaten and bully the CA legislature into enacting his "reforms" is worse. This worked; he'll use it again and again. And California will lose.

We need a campaign just as well financed to overcome his public image. Too many people seem to enjoy watching him play another "role" as governor, without realizing that the real-life effects are not as rosy as the final scene on the big screen.

[Cleita]

14. Yes.

What a piece of **** legislation this is.:eyes:

[Andromeda]

15. This legislation is an aberration --

The worker's comp laws the way they existed gave the advantage to the employer anyway. Now the permanently injured worker will really get screwed.

[relaf]

17. workers comp

I am not certain what the best system is for these kinds of injuries. It seems that in this law student's opinion that you need a system that compensates workers for either their employers negligence or for the so-called unavoidable loss(aka strict liability). However, for workers who fake it, they shouldn't get squat. Granted, I do not have the stats, I would guess a very small percentage are faking it, but they do create a drain on the system. Also, for negligent workers who get hurt, I don't think they should recover either. For the record, I am not a huge believer in the eggshell skull, I think it is mainly mental and some people need to toughen up. That being said, the system shouldn't restrict what doctor you see, it seems patently unfair to send them to the company doc.

Perhaps the best solution is use the tort system, with strict liability in conjunction with contributory negligence to determine worker's comp, and scrap the whole system. If the company worries about a big verdict, well then there is an incentive to settle(and be less negligent in the future), and frivolous claims, contrary to popular opinion are usually weeded out way before the jury sees them.

Anyway...everyone enjoy your day

[genius]

18. Don't blame the Repubs. The Dems voted for it.

The Republicans are bad guys. That's why they're Republicans. The Democratic leaders are not supposed to betray us. We need to kick everyone who voted for the bill out of our party next primary season.

[Cleita]

19. I used to work for Doctors doing the billing.

I have to admit that WC was abused a lot, especially when I worked for a chiropractor. He salivated whenever a WC or auto accident injury came to him. There was a triumvate between the orthopedic medical doctor, the claims lawyer and himself. By the time a claim was settled, the injured got very little with the lion's share going to the above three. I finally quit in disgust because I didn't want to be privy to this dishonesty.

I know these cheaters are in the minority, but I think their abuse of the system has much to do with the Republicans being able to push through this legislation. I reported these people to the Insurance Commissioner. This was twenty years ago and they all are still in business today so apparently nothing was done.