This Washington
PubliCola TV: Rep. Brendan Williams on I-1082
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5E3OH8yqg0[/youtube]
State Rep. Brendan Williams (D-22) stopped by PubliCola World HQ the other day to explain the extremely confusing Initiative 1082, which would partly privatize workers' compensation insurance. We can't say we totally understand the proposal (watch the, um, confusing video for yourself), but we learned enough to decide it sounds ... risky.
I-1082 would:
• Create a private workers' compensation option starting in 2012. (Currently, all employers and employees pay into a state-maintained workers' compensation fund, which pays workers for injuries sustained on the job and provides two tiers of appeal for injured workers to seek compensation from the state);
• As part of that program, require employers to immediately begin paying the portion of workers' compensation insurance that was previously paid for by employees, resulting in higher costs for businesses;
• Exempt private workers' comp plans from the Insurance Fair Conduct Act, which provides legal remedies for people who are unfairly denied workers' comp;
• Allow insurers to set their own rates without input from the state insurance commissioner; and
• Create a profit motive for insurance companies like AIG (and motivation for insurers to deny workers' comp claims).
The initiative is also a power grab by the Building Industry Association of Washington, which has funneled millions in unclaimed workers' comp dollars program to funnel into political campaigns instead of giving that money back to workers. (The BIAW is the biggest contributor to the 1082 campaign). While BIAW chapters, like the Snohomish and King County Master Builders are suing for the right to set up their own programs, the initiative says that only groups with experience running rebate programs—read: the BIAW—can run workers' comp refund programs, rather than newcomers like local master builders associations.
State Rep. Brendan Williams (D-22) stopped by PubliCola World HQ the other day to explain the extremely confusing Initiative 1082, which would partly privatize workers' compensation insurance. We can't say we totally understand the proposal (watch the, um, confusing video for yourself), but we learned enough to decide it sounds ... risky.
I-1082 would:
• Create a private workers' compensation option starting in 2012. (Currently, all employers and employees pay into a state-maintained workers' compensation fund, which pays workers for injuries sustained on the job and provides two tiers of appeal for injured workers to seek compensation from the state);
• As part of that program, require employers to immediately begin paying the portion of workers' compensation insurance that was previously paid for by employees, resulting in higher costs for businesses;
• Exempt private workers' comp plans from the Insurance Fair Conduct Act, which provides legal remedies for people who are unfairly denied workers' comp;
• Allow insurers to set their own rates without input from the state insurance commissioner; and
• Create a profit motive for insurance companies like AIG (and motivation for insurers to deny workers' comp claims).
The initiative is also a power grab by the Building Industry Association of Washington, which has funneled millions in unclaimed workers' comp dollars program to funnel into political campaigns instead of giving that money back to workers. (The BIAW is the biggest contributor to the 1082 campaign). While BIAW chapters, like the Snohomish and King County Master Builders are suing for the right to set up their own programs, the initiative says that only groups with experience running rebate programs—read: the BIAW—can run workers' comp refund programs, rather than newcomers like local master builders associations.
