Mo. Senators Square-Off on Workers’ Comp Bill

Senators began debate Wednesday on a Republican-favored bill that would limit the number of workers’ eligible for compensation in an effort to bring down high insurance premiums for Missouri businesses.

The state workers’ compensation program was created 80 years ago as a way to resolve injury claims through administrative proceedings, instead of the courts. Still, many claims involve lawyers. And while the number of claims has fallen in recent years, according to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, the cost per claim has been climbing.

The legislation by Sen. John Loudon, R-Ballwin, would mark the most significant overhaul to the system in a dozen years.

“This bill is going to help the workers’ compensation system by lowering costs,” Loudon said. “But it’s not going to scrap the whole system and start with draconian measures.”

The legislation would tighten the definition of a workplace injury by requiring work to be “the prevailing factor” instead of a “substantial factor” in the injury. Also, people traveling to and from work in a company-owned or subsidized car would no longer be eligible for compensation.

All claims for compensation would have to be reviewed impartially, instead of giving the benefit of the doubt to the employee, according to the legislation. Currently, claim cases are supposed to be decided “with a view to the public welfare.”

But Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis, said the bill fails to address the problems legitimately injured workers face in getting compensation. Often, he said, it can take months for hurt workers to receive their first checks. In the meantime, they still have bills to pay and families to support.

“We have yet to deal with making sure injured workers are treated quickly and fairly in the bill,” Green said.

Republicans and Democrats spent days working behind the scenes to try to reach compromises. As a result, the bill debated Wednesday removed language from a previous version that would have required employees to provide “objective medical evidence” from a doctor to prove their injuries. The current version of the legislation also removes an earlier provision that would have prohibited senior citizens receiving Social Security benefits from being eligible for workers’ compensation.

Under the bill, people accused of defrauding the workers’ compensation system could be charged with a Class D felony, punishable by up to four years in prison, instead of a misdemeanor, on the first offense.

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Topics Legislation Workers' Compensation Missouri