OLYMPIA — With just days left in the legislative session, a group of moderate House Democrats unveiled their own proposal Tuesday to reform the state’s workers compensation system, keeping the thorny issue of settlements, but making several changes to a broader Senate measure.
The group’s proposal builds off a business-backed measure that the Senate approved earlier this session, but that has stalled in the House.
The revamped proposal is also meeting opposition from organized labor, which has argued that the workers compensation system is a safety net for laborers, not a place for litigation.
The Senate bill introduces the option of settlements to the state’s system for injured workers, but labor groups have steadfastly opposed any kind of settlements.
House leadership also seems to prefer its own package of bills that make several adjustments to the state’s system of injured workers, instead of the settlement option.
Because of that, the odds of the bill making it to a floor vote are uncertain. The moderate Democrats would need to join all the House Republicans to approve a motion to let the bill be voted on the floor — an attempt last week fell short of the votes needed.
Tuesday’s proposal is the latest in a session-long fight to reform the workers compensation system. Gov. Chris Gregoire, Senate and House leaders have all made making changes to the workers compensation system as priority this session after the state auditor’s office last year said that reserves of the system were at risk of insolvency.
Gregoire has said she wants savings enacted this year to avoid a hike in the payments businesses pay into the system.
“I think we have answered a lot of the concerns about this, but we also can capture significant savings, while at the same time protect the interest of workers,” said Rep. Chris Hurst, D-Enumclaw, one of the eight House Democrats who signed on to the plan.
At the end of the day, it’s the workers’ money and it’s their life, and they should have the right to make this choice to make this decision on their own and it needs to be a fair process,” Hurst added.
Under the moderate’s plan, settlements from medical claims are eliminated. Those were included in the Senate bill. The plan also expands a wait period from 12 weeks in the Senate plan to six months before a claim is filed for time worked losses. A worker would receive benefits in those six months.
The moderate’s plan also enhances safeguards for workers who can’t afford a lawyer, and asks for a study to be completed in three years that would assess the success of the plan.
“So rather than harming a worker, like the labor folks say this will, this actually is an incentive to get back into … just the rhythm and routine without fear of losing their benefits,” Hurst said.
How much the moderate’s proposal would save the system is not known yet. The Senate bill released earlier had estimated savings of $1.2 billion in the next two years, according to state officials.
But labor argues that settlements would not fully compensate a worker injured on the job.
“The only compromise, in any form of compromise and release, is workers compromising the benefits they need to survive,” said Jeff Johnson, president of the Washington State Labor Council.
The House package that leadership has preferred includes bills that would freeze cost of living allowances for a year, and stop injured workers who receive total-disability pensions from receiving partial disability benefits.
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