New York Workers Compensation Alliance

Short Term Goals

Defeat those provisions in Governor Pataki's current Workers' Compensation "Reform" Bill which take away rights and benefits which injured workers currently enjoy;Defeat Governor Pataki's proposal to "cap" benefits for permanent disabilities;

Defeat Governor Pataki's proposal to cut in half benefits for permanent injuries to arms, hands, legs and feet;

Defeat Governor Pataki's proposal to take away an injured worker's right to a judicial hearing;

Defeat Governor Pataki's proposal to eliminate an injured workers' right to use his/her own pharmacist;

Implement an indexed benefit rate increase for injured workers, which has not been raised in 14 years. The current maximum workers compensation rate in New York is $400/week and has not changed since 1992. New Jersey's maximum workers' compensation rate is $891 and Connecticut's is $931! How fair is that?

Long Term Goals

Elect representatives committed to protecting the health, safety and economic security of injured workers;

Convince representatives and employers that increasing workers' compensation costs has more to do with insurance company profiteering than abuses of the system;

Remind representatives of the "historic compromise" between workers and employers which created the Workers' Compensation Law. Workers gave up their right to sue the employer for their injuries in return for a fair and just workers' compensation system;

Urge prosecutors to crack down on rampant "employer fraud" and "uninsured employers", which costs honest employers additional premiums;

Give employers additional incentives to prevent worker injuries, rather than simply pay claims that could have been prevented;

Provide permanently disabled workers with job retraining programs so they can reenter the workforce.