Persons reading the New York Workers’ Compensation Law from start to finish are struck by the long, inexplicable lists of various employments. Why do these have to be listed? The answer has great relevancy to proposed national health care.
When the comp law was passed in 1914 only certain hazardous employments were covered, principally construction and heavy manufacturing. Legislators, however, quickly spotted opportunity. Soon, each legislator was being lobbied by unions to include whatever jobs its member were engaged in locally. The legislators, in turn, made deals with other legislators to assist each other in getting the comp law amended to include a package of covered employments.
It was not until the late 1930s that “all employments” became covered, unless they had a special dispensation. That, in turn, led to certain employments lobbying for exemptions when there was more to be gained from a collective bargaining agreement.
The same process is now well under way with national health care. Already, certain employments are considered to have special medical care needs and, therefore, should be treated differently. (workersxzcompxzkit)
The New York experience from 1914 to 1938 may be duplicated soon in national health care. Legislators know there is much to be gained by writing a long series of “exceptions” and “exemptions” each year. Each job title, each employer, each union, each state, will want special consideration – and many will get it. In New York, at present, there are “alternate dispute resolution” panels providing faster and less litigious resolutions – but only to construction unions. Special treatment of some classes of workers has been a fact of life in New York comp for decades.
Author: Attorney Theodore Ronca is a practicing lawyer from Aquebogue, NY. He is a frequent writer and speaker, and has represented employers in the areas of workers’ compensation, Social Security disability, employee disability plans and subrogation for over 30 years. Attorney Ronca can be reached at 631-722-2100.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers’ Compensation costs, including airlines, health care, manufacturing, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. He can be contacted at: Robert_Elliott@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.
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