Oklahoma GOP Forges Ahead With Workers’ Comp Overhaul

Article

Oklahoma Senate Republicans are continuing their push to completely overhaul Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation laws, arguing the system is too expensive for businesses.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a half-dozen workers’ compensation bills, most of which drew opposition from Democrats who argued the proposals wouldn’t do anything to help workers and benefit only businesses and industry.

“They are completely one-sided at this point in favor of the employer,” said Senate Democratic leader Charlie Laster, a committee member who voted against all but one of the bills. “The big problem I’m seeing is that there is no attempt yet to bring in both sides to try and work on this.”

Among the House bills approved are measures to create a new position of medical director of the Workers’ Compensation Court that would oversee medical maintenance of injured workers. Another bill that received unanimous approval would require workers convicted of fraud to be responsible for paying any premium increases incurred by employers.

A 117-page bill overhauling the workers’ compensation system authored by Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, already has been approved by the Senate and sent to the House for consideration. A similar House bill is scheduled to be considered in a Senate committee next week.

Among the changes that GOP leaders want is the elimination of two judge positions at the Workers’ Compensation Court, limiting judges’ terms, requiring Senate confirmation of judges, mandatory mediation of claims and the creation of a three-judge panel of magistrates to handle all appeals.

“Right now, it appears one of the problems is in the court, in that we either do not have or do not follow the proper guidelines for administering benefits,” said Sen. Harry Coates, R-Seminole, who carried several of Coffee’s bills in Tuesday’s committee. “That seems to be a huge problem, maybe the No. 1 problem.”

Coates also claimed that attorneys for injured workers and businesses have been included in negotiations on the bill with Coffee and representatives from the court.

Laster argued that requiring Senate confirmation of judges will only politicize the process, and that reducing the number of judges will delay getting benefits to injured workers.

“My concern is that workers’ benefits are often delayed because of the workload at the Workers’ Comp Court, and reducing the number of judges only makes it even longer before they can get to court, get their case heard and get the compensation they deserve,” said Laster, D-Shawnee.

Coates, who said he himself was injured on a construction job site about ten years ago, said claimants often resist going back to work, even when they’ve been medically cleared.

“I was one of those claimants who didn’t want to go back to light duty,” said Coates, who said he missed about six weeks of work after falling 15 feet when a safety railing broke. “The longer you stay off work, the more likely you are to apply for benefits you probably don’t need.”