A Look at Workman’s Compensation

A Look at Workman’s Compensation
Copyright © Jose Love


http://www.yourescape.2freedom.com

When starting a new business, one of the things to

be aware of in the United States is Worker’s

Compensation. This program provides insurance to a

company in the even that one of their employees is

injured or otherwise hurt on the job. This

compensation covers medical expenses, including

hospital stays, doctor visits, surgeries, and

prescription drugs for the injured employee. The

compensation is in place to prevent the employee

from suing the company for the refurbishment of

these funds down the road. In fact, employees using

the worker’s comp program give up their rights to

sue in exchange for the guaranteed payment.

The Worker’s Compensation program began in the

early 1900's, and was put in place to protect

companies and provide workers with an automatic

recourse when injured or hurt on the job. Prior to

the advancement of such programs, injured workers

had no choice but to sue their employers for lost

wages and hospital fees, often resulting in the

loss of jobs and extensive settlements that far

exceeded what was necessary on a case by case

basis.

There are significant arguments against the current

form of Worker’s Compensation in the United States.

Those arguments include that it provides a certain

amount of incentive to larger corporations to

simply move most of their production to those areas

where these Compensation laws are not in effect

(i.e., offshore). Small business owners, likewise,

also complain that the system is in need of reform

and argue that the insurance premiums are much too

high and place too much of a burden on the

fledgling businessman.

Worker’s Compensation has also been in the news

lately, with the new laws that provide for first

responders such as policemen and firemen to have

medical issues such as heart failure and cancer

paid for by the Worker’s Compensation package,

rather than through medical insurance. This has

been done under controversial circumstances, with

the reasoning behind it coming from statistics that

show these diseases to be more prevalent in people

with these types of jobs. Opponents, however, argue

that an anecdotal relationship is not enough, and

there has been no causal link established.

Privatization has been a big issue in the world of

worker’s compensation as well, with West Virginia

the latest state to move from a state funded

program to a privately funded host of competitive

companies. This type of privatization never comes

without risks and controversy, though studies show

that rates for the insurance have dropped

dramatically since the switch took place last year.

Whether public or private, for small businesses or

large, worker’s compensation remains a tightly

woven thread in the American workforce, and it will

surely remain there, in some form, for many years

to come.
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