NY Workers' Comp Reform: The Business Council's Cruel Hoax on Upstate Workers
In the current workers' compensation reform debate, large corporate and insurance company interests say that "workers' compensation costs are too high for employers, and benefits too low for workers". However, based upon 2005 wage earning data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, current cash benefit levels are not the problem for upstate New York workers. If the caps on permanent partial disabilities (PPD's) proposed by the Business Council of New York State are adopted, the average upstate New York worker who is permanently disabled will receive drastically less workers' compensation benefits and will not benefit from "higher benefit levels".
Why? All workers' compensation cash benefits across the 50 states are based upon the injured workers' "average weekly wage". That's why it is misleading and inaccurate for the Business Council to compare New York's workers' compensation costs per claim to those in other states with less unionized workers and lower wage rates. Of course the cost per claim is less when you are talking about textile mill workers in Alabama who make less. It's like comparing apples to orange juice!
According to 2005 federal government data, the median weekly wage (excluding the Home Depot Nardelli's from the calculation) for all occupations in Buffalo is $556.40/wk ($13.91/hr), in Syracuse is $571.60/wk ($14.26/hr), in Rochester is $576.00/wk ($14.40/hr) and Albany is $619.60/wk ($15.49/hr). Based upon this data, the typical upstate New York worker today barely reaches the current maximum weekly benefit of $400.00/wk and would not benefit by trading a cap on PPD's for a maximum benefit increase.
Therefore, if big business wants to trade an increase in benefit levels for a cap on permanent disabilities (PPD's), how does the average upstate New York worker benefit? Obviously, they don't, but big business does because they now don't have to pay workers' compensation cash benefits at the tail end of the disability. It's the old "iron fist in the velvet glove" trick and will be a real knockout punch to average upstate New York families struggling to get by. Resourceful and wise upstate New Yorker's won't fall for that one!
Thankfully, when the Workers' Compensation Alliance recently testified before upstate New York Senator George Maziarz, Chair of the Senate Labor Committee, we realized that this was a fair minded man who could not be duped by unreliable and misleading data put forth by the Business Council of New York State. After New York's own Insurance Department questioned the data of the insurance industry New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board (NYCIRB's data is so unreliable the entire organization should be abolished), the threshold question he raised was "how can we reform workers' comp without the correct data". The leaders of the New York State Assembly are asking the same question. This is the reason many insist that the need for workers' compensation reform is an "invented crisis".
We all want to revive the upstate New York economy. We would like upstate to behave more like the thriving high wage downstate economy. The way to do this is to attract high tech, high paying jobs to the upstate New York region, not undercut the Nickel and Dimed upstate New York worker. "Silicon Valley" type companies are not nearly as concerned about workers' compensation costs since their workers rarely get injured on the job. They are more concerned with property taxes - a long festering problem that we have no doubt Governor Spitzer will fix given his past performance and formidable mandate from the citizens of the great Empire State.
i went to my comp. hearing today. i have been dealing with herniated discs and alot of pain to my back due to a back injury. in comp. court i feel like a criminal accused of a crime. The comp. insinuates i am a liar, when the only crime i committed was working hard most of my life and working when i was in severe pain. It is a shame a hard working innocent people have to go through this be cause of a work injury!
What, precisely do they mean?
"Cost savings worth hundreds of millions of dollars will be achieved by setting maximum number of years that a small population of claimants can receive cash benefits. Medical services will continue, however, and a safety net will be established to help these workers return to gainful employment and to intervene in cases of extreme hardship;
Innovative programs are being established to get workers prompt medical treatment and to help them return to work;"
WTC Initial Responder
Single Mother
to the fellow up top that said "when the only crime i committed was working hard most of my life and working when i was in severe pain" .
allot of us are in that exact boat my friend.
my buddy,(out of state) said to me when i told him what was going on with comp and this system. he said "thats what we get for always taking the heavy end all of our lives).
meaning of course,,we tried to be the best worker/laborer we could be.
we both were basically laborers in some way or another.
i always knew when applying for a job,"the best thing i can offer is a strong back". now that i have had time to think,of course i had a brain as well,but with no document(schooling) in my hand,i may as well have come out of a cave. they wanted a back,not a brain.
but now,because i (we) broke ourselves making them a zillion $ more than we ever saw,,we get to get shafted twice.
the thing is, I and likely most of us,,took allot of pride in the work i/we gave them. when the boss showed up,,if he saw me not on break,i knew he knew he had a good worker.
they say if you work hard ,youll get ahead,,thats a crock. if you have the personality that can make friends fast,,thats what will get you ahead. the guys that got ahead fast,,were the ones that talked BS and buddied up and got recognized. if you just worked hard,i now know, they just saw me/you as a THING that was making their money making world go round.
when i pushed my kids to go to college,,(it wasn't hard),i told them all,"the goal for this education is not to get a good job,the goal is to work for yourself". the three of them are in school now,paying their own way,i cant help them much,and they all kinda want to go to be a "DR." in their fields.
i couldn't ask for more.
sign me,,
a messed up laborer,,and a proud parent.
roy
PS: " dont be the guy that breaks your back for the other guy,be the other guy"
Well I have been out of work since oct 2006 from occupational injuries. Everytime i need to see a doctor there is a average 2 month wait and the same goes for the work comp hearings. As of yet my work comp claim has not been opened and my disability benifits are almost expired. I Need surgery and I wont be able to get it till the comp is established and my case opened. But wait I was recently told that the insurance company can appeal leaving me to wait another 6 to 9 months. In a few weeks my disability runs out leaving me with nothing. All this time i spent waiting I could of had the surgery, recovered and been back to work which is all I want. Too bad too many other people are making money from my injury, so this will go on as long as the work comp system stays the same. I now feel very alone and frustrated with all this. Can anyone advise me?