Utah Officials Plan No Changes in Workers’ Comp

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The Utah Workers Compensation Fund, an insurance pool that pays people who are injured on the job, has dropped plans to restrict benefits.

Fund officials considered asking for a change in state law to tighten eligibility for lost wages. They said too many people were being paid despite being able to perform other work.

But amid much opposition at a meeting, President Lane Summerhays said the request won’t be made.

Hispanics considered it an attack on illegal immigrants, although Summerhays insisted they were not a target.

“He’s saying our community is full of criminals,” attorney Mike Martinez said.

Summerhays said: “We put forth a stupid proposal.”

“We saw unintended consequences and threw it out,” he said at a meeting of a business-labor group that advises the fund.

Earlier, Summerhays said changes were needed because the fund was losing too many cases involving people it believed can do some work. Even people in jail sometimes continue to get paid, he said.