Florida was no stranger to this. Several years ago, lawmakers had enacted strict caps on plaintiff attorney fees that had some law firms being paid less than minimum wage. There was also a provision that limited workers to two years of temporary disability pay, regardless of whether they were actually able to return to work. Just this summer, the Florida Supreme Court struck down those provisions.

Now, as reported by ProPublica (which has been delving deep into this issue since last year), the Oklahoma Supreme Court has declared Oklahoma’s opt-out provision of workers’ compensation law unconstitutional. The opt-out system basically gave employers the right to write their own plans. It was the employer who decided the rules for which injuries would be covered. The employer dictated which physicians workers were allowed to see. Employers also decided how workers were to be compensated and how grievances would be handled. In some cases, companies even required work-related injuries to be reported on the very day they happened – unlike the 30-day window granted by the state – or else the injury wouldn’t be found compensable at all. The state high court ruled that these provisions rendered the opt-out system a violation of worker rights because it treated some workers (employees of those companies) differently than others.

The law was originally passed following an aggressive and concerted effort by a national and organized effort large firms, including the biggest companies in trucking, health care and retail. They pushed hard to pass similar laws across the U.S., primarily in the Southeastern part.

An investigation by NPR and ProPublica last year revealed these “opt-out” plans – touted as “worker-friendly,” “affordable,” and “faster,” in fact resulted in lower benefits and more restrictions for workers than they would face under workers’ compensation laws. That story was part of a larger series on how states had been systematically deconstructing workers’ compensation laws – piece by piece – to the detriment of injured workers.

This decision in Oklahoma is actually the second handed down by the high court in that state this year on the workers’ compensation issue. In the spring, the court overturned a provision that significantly reduced workers’ compensation benefits to those workers who suffered severe, permanent and disabling injuries. Unfortunately here in Florida (as well as New York and Tennessee) that same kind of provision still exists.

If you have been injured at work in Miami or in a Miami construction accident, we will help fight to ensure you and/or your loved ones receive fair compensation.

Call Chalik & Chalik at (954) 476-1000 or 1 (800) 873-9040.

Additional Resources:

Oklahoma’s Top Court: Companies Can’t Set Own Rules for Injured Workers, Sept. 13, 2016, By Michael Grabell, ProPublica

More Blog Entries:

Burger King Corp. v. Lastre-Torres – Third-Party Liability for Florida Work Injury, Sept. 18, 2016, Miami Work Injury Lawyer Blog

A recent investigation by NPR and ProPublica found that since 2003, more than 30 states have enacted legislation that either cuts benefits for injured workers, makes it harder to qualify for compensation, or creates obstacles to obtaining medical care. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that many injured and disabled workers are unable to get benefits, and that workers’ compensation only covers approximately 21 percent of medical bills and lost wages incurred by injured workers.

Illinois is one of the battleground states. Governor Bruce Rauner has pushed his “Turnaround Agenda,” which would “reform” workers’ compensation by lessening employer liability and making it harder for injured workers to get benefits. The governor claims the changes are necessary to make Illinois more attractive to businesses, and he had refused to sign a state budget unless action was taken. However, on June 30, Rauner signed a stopgap budget and school funding bill that would provide for government services for six months and allow schools to open in the fall.

For nearly a century, the workers’ compensation system has promised workers that if they are injured on the job, they will be compensated. In return, businesses are protected from lawsuits. But now businesses, particularly insurance companies, are using state legislatures to demand changes that harm workers.

These so-called reforms have a real human cost. Last year, Steve Emery spoke to Illinois lawmakers. At age 50, after 30 years of working as a coal miner in southern Illinois, Emery’s wrists and hands gave out, and a doctor said he could never work in a mine again. Emery had to fight the insurance companies for four years to receive $1,815 per month in compensation, about a quarter of what he used to earn. Under Rauner’s proposed reforms, the insurance companies might have been successful in their argument that Emery’s injuries were not work-related, and he could have received nothing.

As early as 1972, a federal commission led by Republican John Burton, found that states were engaged in a “race to the bottom” searching for lower benefits for workers. The study recommended mandatory federal standards, but none were enacted.

Real reform of the workers’ compensation system would involve greater protections for workers. The legitimate concerns of businesses over the high cost of workers’ compensation insurance could be addressed by stricter regulation of the insurance industry. In the meantime, lawmakers and citizens are right to resist phony reforms that harm workers.

Over the past decade, workers’ compensation benefits have deteriorated across the country as states initiate cost-cutting measures. A comprehensive new investigation by ProPublica and NPR reveals that these workers’ comp “reforms” have had a brutal effect: injured workers denied the help they need and taxpayers forced to bear the cost of workplace accidents.

The ProPublica report, titled The Demolition of Workers’ Comp, states that cutbacks in many states have been so drastic, they “virtually guarantee” that injured workers will descend into poverty. According to the nonprofit news organization, workers’ comp reform has been pushed by insurance companies and big corporations based on the “false premise” that costs are too high — when in fact employers are currently paying the lowest premiums for workers’ compensation insurance since the 1970s.

Meanwhile, 2013 (the most recently studied year) was the most profitable year for insurers in more than 10 years.

The changes are different in each state, but ProPublica documents that since 2003, the legislatures of 33 states have passed laws either reducing worker’s comp benefits or making it more difficult for injured workers to qualify for them. According to the report, workers in 37 states are not able to choose their own doctor or must choose from a list of doctors pre-approved by their employers. In 22 states, there are now arbitrary time limits on temporary wage benefits for injured workers, even if they have not recovered yet.

In California, insurers may now reopen old cases and take away workers’ benefits based on the opinions of doctors. Those doctors are not required to have ever examined the patient, and they do not have to be licensed in the state.

In Illinois, as in other states, workers’ compensation reforms were passed with the promise that they would reduce costs for employers, making the state more attractive to businesses. In 2011, Illinois:

• reduced payments to hospitals and doctors on medical fee schedules by 30 percent
• limited the ability of some workers to choose their own doctors
• raised the burden of proof for workers who have suffered an injury to qualify for workers’ comp
• created a presumption that a second opinion or medical review sought by an insurer or employer is correct if it is based on certain treatment guidelines
• created a cap for wage-loss benefits if workers take a lower-paying job five years after the injury or at age 67, whichever is later
• limited benefits for carpal tunnel syndrome
• required disability awards to be determined by new guidelines from the American Medical Association, which results in lower ratings used for compensation.

As Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has proposed further “reforms” to the workers’ compensation system, we should be wary of allowing our state to participate in a “race to the bottom,” sacrificing workers’ rights for business profits.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago work accidents and wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

This isn’t something that I would normally write about here, but it is something that is on my mind and something that I feel needs to be shared.

This week, Rolling Stone magazine released an article, A Rape On Campus: A Brutal Assault and Struggle For Justice At UVA, looking at the problems at the University of Virginia, and it is a compelling read on a huge problem. I think all parents should read it.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t appear to be an isolated event.  I did a simple Google search on “Campus Rape” and came up with too many stories and resources to count.  If you’re interested in reading more about the problem, some of the resources are:

• Campus Rapes from NPR (a collection of NPR stories about campus rapes)
• How One College Handled A Sexual Assault Complaint
• Every College Parent’s Fear: Campus Rape
• Why the Campus Rape Crises Confounds Colleges

In part, I’m encouraged that a conversation is starting in the country.  Perhaps that can help alleviate the problem.  I’m also heartened that lawyers are helping hold people and schools accountable in the process.

But I’m also disheartened by many of the things I’ve read, particularly in comments to articles:  people blaming the victims, people denying that a problem exists, etc.

I hope that colleges and universities and others take these matters seriously to protect my daughter, her friends, and others.

One area in which there is still work to be done is in the way children with special needs are enabled to play with their peers. Specifically, playgrounds are often completely impractical for children with physical disabilities. Their ground surfaces may be impossible for wheelchairs to roll over, and their play areas may not have activities appropriate for children lacking in upper-body mobility, strength, and balance.

Last year, accessibility standards for playgrounds were made mandatory under the ADA so that children of differing abilities could play alongside each other. They include rules on the types of equipment, designs, and materials used in public playgrounds. But those inclusive standards can add significantly to the cost of building playgrounds.

A recent NPR report told the story of a family in Pocatello, Idaho, that led a fundraising effort to build a community playground that was accessible and fun for kids of all ability levels. It is Brooklyn’s Playground, named after the family’s wheelchair-bound seven-year-old daughter. Its wide ramps and smooth rubber ground coverings allow wheelchairs to reach all areas, and its swings have back support for children with upper-body disorders.

At 15,000 square feet and a cost of just over half a million dollars, most municipalities could not afford to build such a playground, but Brooklyn’s family spent eight months soliciting donations and organizing bake sales to make it happen.

When advocates and families work together to give special-needs children every possible opportunity, the entire community benefits.

The attorneys at Hook Law Center assist Virginia families with will preparation, trust & estate administration, guardianships and conservatorships, long-term care planning, special needs planning, veterans benefits, and more. To learn more, visit http://www.hooklawcenter.com/ or call 757-399-7506.

The program is Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and as the NPR series “Unfit For Work” described, its payroll, after sharp growth in recent years, now numbers over 14 million. This growth is in spite of medical advances and laws banning employment discrimination based on disability.

NPR reporter Chana Joffe-Walt found that declining real wages, a stagnant economy, and limited employment opportunities create powerful incentives for disabled workers to seek SSDI. She visited Hale County, Alabama, where nearly a quarter of working-age adults are SSDI beneficiaries. There, openings for jobs not requiring physical labor are almost completely unattainable for many due to a lack of education. The states with the highest percentages of disability beneficiaries are also the states with the lowest percentages of college-educated population, including West Virginia, Alabama, and Mississippi.

Joffey-Walt also visited the family of a 10-year-old boy with a learning disability in the Bronx. That disability makes him eligible for $700 per month in Social Security, the family’s primary source of income. If Jahleel were to completely overcome his disability and excel in his education, it would threaten his family’s livelihood. The story illustrated the conflicting motivations some families with benefit income struggle with.

A group of eight former Social Security Administration (SSA) commissioners wrote an open letter to the public responding to the NPR story. The commissioners pointed out that analysts at the SSA had predicted the current uptrend in SSDI’s growth for decades. Two demographic swells combine to account for the majority of the growth in SSDI: the baby boom and the influx of women into the American workforce in the 1970s and 1980s. These groups are now entering their high-disability years.

The letter added that the growth in children receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits is due to the nationwide growth in poverty. Less than four percent of low-income children receive SSI benefits – a figure that has held steady, according to the commissioners.

Advocacy group the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CDC) also published an open letter shortly after the story aired. They called attention to the strictness of the eligibility requirements, saying only about 40 percent of adult applicants are approved.

SSDI ensures the livelihood of millions of Americans, but has swelled at an eyebrow-raising rate in recent years. Congress may reform the program in the coming years to help those on the margin remain gainfully employed. But they must take care to ensure the economic security of the most vulnerable Americans.

Alston & Baker, an Affiliation of Professional Associations: The Law Office of Robert C. Alston, Esq., P.A. and The Law Office of Marcie L. Baker, Esq., P.A. To contact a social security attorney call 1.888.500.5245 or visit http://www.alstonbakerlaw.com.