I find it somewhat curious that decisions are published by the First District Court of Appeal and the Judges of Compensation Claims documenting illegal activity by employers and no one in law enforcement seems to notice. In the recent past an injured worker was found to have been employed in a job where he was paid cash. Since the injured worker could not prove he reported his cash income for income tax purposes, he was deemed to have an average weekly wage of "0" and therefore not entitled to any indemnity benefits. The injured worker paid the price for being here illegally and being unlucky by having an accident. What about the employer?
It is unlawful to employ illegals. It is unlawful to fail to pay withholding and social security. It is premium fraud to fail to list payroll for unemployment purposes and send the report to the carrier quarterly. But did the state attorney, the police, the IRS or the U.S.Attorney notice? I don't think so.
It is the employer who has the upper hand. You want to work? You want to get paid? We pay in cash. You got a problem with that?
The workers' compensation statute says that the employee is responsable for reporting tips to the employer. The statute is silent about who is supposed to report income. The tax laws require the employer to report withholding each payday. The employer has to prepare a W-2 annually and file it with the IRS and send a copy to the employee. The employee is supposed to file a tax return if he or she has more than the minimum required income. Yet the employee who gets injured is punished by having a "0" average weekly wage if the employer is the initial bad guy and the powerless employee goes along. The bad guys win.
And where are the cops?
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
A TIME FOR ACTION
Only three days ago it was only possible that there would be a Democrat in the White House, a majority in the House and a near filibuster proof majority of Democrats in the Senate. Today 2 out of three have come to fruition and the third is still up in the air- Go Franken!
What does this mean to the injured worker community? Nothing if you sit back and do nothing. Today, tomorrow and for the next four years, it is time for action.
I may have mentioned in this Blog the National Commission on State Workers' Compensation Laws which was created in the 1970 OSHA legislation passed and signed into law by Richard Nixon. The commission had over 50 members from all walks of life-- educators, union representatives, insurance executives, employers from large companies, etc. The commission reported to the president that they had reached unanimous conclusions-- that state workers' compensation laws were unfair and inadequate and that something must be done.
Following the publication of the report a Bill entitled The Federal Minimum Standards for State Workers' Compensation Laws was introduced in the U.S.Senate. The Bill became known as the Williams/Javits Act. Sen. Jacob Javits was one of the sponsors. Hearings were held at which testimony was taken. The attorney generals from most of the states got together and promised Congress that if left alone and not subjected to Federal minimum standards, they would do better in providing for injured workers and their families. The promise worked. The bill, SB 2008, did not pass.
Many of the states kept their promise. In Florida, for example, the 1974 Papy package of amendments to the workers' compensation law became effective October 1, 1974. It was a great leap forward for a state that had a $66.00 maximum weekly compensation benefit in 1972 to reach $112.00 in January 1976.
The promise was short lived. Nixon got into some trouble over a place called Watergate. The nation was involved in a very unpopular war in the far east, and the "Federal Threat" went away. The states took this as a signal to return to their own selfish ways with a vengence. Again, in Florida, every set of amendments introduced and passed by our Tallahassee gang of employer and insurance controlled legislators from 1978 to 2003 was intended to reduce benefits to injured workers and make it as hard as possible to navigate the adjudicatory system. Just imagine in a state that has grown as fast as Florida since 1978, that today we have the same number of compensation judges as in 1978! Actually we are authorized to have one additional judge, but that vacancy is not yet filled. In 2003, Jeb Bush led the Republican controlled legislature to pass the most Draconian compensation law in the nation. Currently injured workers no longer have any benefit for permanent partial disability. After reaching maximum medical improvement they get a few weeks of reduced weekly benefits for their physical impairment and nothing more unless they qualify for permanent total disability which is very nearly impossible in most cases.
So now is the time to act. The time to let all those democratic representatives and senators and the new president know how you feel about this situation. Let them know that you want them to resurrect the minimum standards legislation and pass it in this session. The states have been using workers' compensation laws as economic weapons against each other since the 1970's to attract new industry to their states by having cheaper workers' compensation costs than the other states. They are fighting this war on the backs of injured workers and that must stop. Injured workers are the bait used to lure business. When all states have to provide the same minimum benefits, the states can lure workers with better benefits than the Federal legislation requires.
The time for action is now. Get this issue on the front burner to be acted upon as soon as they fix the economy and get us out of Iraq.
What does this mean to the injured worker community? Nothing if you sit back and do nothing. Today, tomorrow and for the next four years, it is time for action.
I may have mentioned in this Blog the National Commission on State Workers' Compensation Laws which was created in the 1970 OSHA legislation passed and signed into law by Richard Nixon. The commission had over 50 members from all walks of life-- educators, union representatives, insurance executives, employers from large companies, etc. The commission reported to the president that they had reached unanimous conclusions-- that state workers' compensation laws were unfair and inadequate and that something must be done.
Following the publication of the report a Bill entitled The Federal Minimum Standards for State Workers' Compensation Laws was introduced in the U.S.Senate. The Bill became known as the Williams/Javits Act. Sen. Jacob Javits was one of the sponsors. Hearings were held at which testimony was taken. The attorney generals from most of the states got together and promised Congress that if left alone and not subjected to Federal minimum standards, they would do better in providing for injured workers and their families. The promise worked. The bill, SB 2008, did not pass.
Many of the states kept their promise. In Florida, for example, the 1974 Papy package of amendments to the workers' compensation law became effective October 1, 1974. It was a great leap forward for a state that had a $66.00 maximum weekly compensation benefit in 1972 to reach $112.00 in January 1976.
The promise was short lived. Nixon got into some trouble over a place called Watergate. The nation was involved in a very unpopular war in the far east, and the "Federal Threat" went away. The states took this as a signal to return to their own selfish ways with a vengence. Again, in Florida, every set of amendments introduced and passed by our Tallahassee gang of employer and insurance controlled legislators from 1978 to 2003 was intended to reduce benefits to injured workers and make it as hard as possible to navigate the adjudicatory system. Just imagine in a state that has grown as fast as Florida since 1978, that today we have the same number of compensation judges as in 1978! Actually we are authorized to have one additional judge, but that vacancy is not yet filled. In 2003, Jeb Bush led the Republican controlled legislature to pass the most Draconian compensation law in the nation. Currently injured workers no longer have any benefit for permanent partial disability. After reaching maximum medical improvement they get a few weeks of reduced weekly benefits for their physical impairment and nothing more unless they qualify for permanent total disability which is very nearly impossible in most cases.
So now is the time to act. The time to let all those democratic representatives and senators and the new president know how you feel about this situation. Let them know that you want them to resurrect the minimum standards legislation and pass it in this session. The states have been using workers' compensation laws as economic weapons against each other since the 1970's to attract new industry to their states by having cheaper workers' compensation costs than the other states. They are fighting this war on the backs of injured workers and that must stop. Injured workers are the bait used to lure business. When all states have to provide the same minimum benefits, the states can lure workers with better benefits than the Federal legislation requires.
The time for action is now. Get this issue on the front burner to be acted upon as soon as they fix the economy and get us out of Iraq.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
