NWCDN Members regularly post articles and summary judgements in workers’ compensations law in your state.
Select a state from the dropdown menu below to scroll through the state specific archives for updates and opinions on various workers’ compensation laws in your state.
Contact information for NWCDN members is also located on the state specific links in the event you have additional questions or your company is seeking a workers’ compensation lawyer in your state.
Many companies in Texas elect to opt out of workers’ compensation. Oklahoma recently allowed
companies to do the same, and both South Carolina and Tennessee are considering similar statutory
changes. A Dallas attorney, along with a coalition of executives from some of the country’s biggest
employers, is campaigning for similar changes in a dozen states.
An investigation by NPR and ProPublica found that the employee benefit plans of the opting-out
employers lower worker benefits, with little to no oversight. Gone is the lifetime medical care
promised by the workers’ compensation system. Many injuries that are covered under workers’
compensation, such as infections and carpal tunnel syndrome, would receive no benefits under the
employee benefit plans. Under these plans, employers are able to direct medical care by selecting
the treating doctor, and in some cases, accompany the injured worker to all treatment appointments.
Reporting deadlines can be shortened to as little as end-of-shift or 24 hours, versus the 30-day
reporting window under workers’ compensation.
If any of this sounds familiar, it should; this is the broken system that worker’s compensation was
created to fix.