Advocates: Governor to Have Authority at N.D. Workers’ Comp Agency

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Advocates for injured workers say an initiative that gives the governor power to hire North Dakota’s workers’ compensation director is only one of many changes needed in the system.

“First of all, it’s a step in the right direction. We need to get Measure 4 passed, and a whole lot of things beyond that,” said Sylvan Loegering, who witnessed his son’s struggles with Workforce Safety and Insurance after he was hurt on the job.

“On a scale between 1 to 100, (approval of the measure) is probably between 5 and 10 percent,” Loegering said.

Rep. Alon Wieland, R-West Fargo, believes WSI works better now than it did a decade ago and that making the director’s job a political appointment would be a step backward.

“Governors, regardless of their political side, are generally going to appoint someone they owe a favor to,” Wieland said. “We’ve seen it time and time again by governors of both sides.”

Measure 4 would restore the governor’s power to appoint the WSI director. The Legislature stripped the governor of that authority in 1997, and an appointed board now handles the job.

During those 10 years, six people have served as WSI’s director, not counting a group of employees named as a “transition team” after one director, Brent Edison, was fired in October 2003. The most recent permanent director, Sandy Blunt, is facing two felony charges for misspending agency money.

The measure includes provisions that would require WSI to hire independent administrative law judges and bar the agency from overruling their decisions. Opponents say those changes would cost more money and raise premiums for employers.

Loegering, who is a member of a West Fargo-based support group for injured workers, said workers are frustrated because they believe they can’t get help from their elected officials when dealing with WSI.

Rep. Bill Amerman, D-Forman, favors the measure, but believes Workforce Safety would still need an advisory board to ride herd on its operations.

“The staff at WSI has done a great job, don’t get me wrong. Thousands of injured workers have been taken care of,” Amerman said. “But I think it has been proven by the events that have happened that this situation needs oversight.”

Loegering said his son, Todd, was working as a motorcycle mechanic when he was injured after a garage door slipped and hit him in the face. That led to several appeals with WSI and an administrative law judge, the elder Loegering said.

‘”I saw everything he had to go through,” Loegering said. “A group of us, including his close friends and acquaintances, decided we should try and do something about it so we formed the support group.”

Republican Gov. John Hoeven and his challenger, Democratic Sen. Tim Mathern, both favor the ballot measure.

In postings on the North Dakota Injured Workers Support Group Web site, Mathern said he would insist that more workers are considered for the board and promised to attend all board meetings until “most of the problems have been solved and are operational.”

Hoeven said he would “work to insure injured workers receive adequate and timely benefits and compensation.”

Wieland said the controversy with Blunt and WSI has clouded the issue.

“I’m afraid that this may be one where people vote with their passion, not necessarily with the practical aspect,” Wieland said. “I think the system may need some work, but I’m one who believes that government shouldn’t be in business.”