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.
Texas is the only state in which employers may “opt out” of the workers’ compensation system. Most construction contractors have opted out, and testimony taken at the House Business and Industry Committee hearing on April 9 referenced studies showing that only 40% of Texas construction workers are covered. The number of employers in mining, utilities, and construction that subscribe to workers’ compensation has fallen by half since 2004, to only 17%, according to a 2018 report by the Division of Workers’ Compensation. And while contractors who opt out expose themselves to tort claims by injured employees, most plaintiffs’ attorneys will not take those cases given most construction companies are not big enough and do not have deep pockets to pay damages.
House Bill 750 (sponsored by Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston) proposes to require all construction contractors and subcontractors to subscribe to workers’ compensation insurance. He says that studies show that construction workers in Texas are four times more likely to be killed at work than in any other industry. Per the U.S. Department of Labor, Texas had 129 fatal construction injuries in 2017, by comparison to California, which had 69.
The bill was left pending in committee with no action after the April 9th hearing, but there is always the possibility that the committee might vote on it at a later hearing. The Texas Legislature’s House committees have until May 6 to report bills or pass them to the floor for a vote.
- Copyright 2019, Erin Hacker Shanley, Stone Loughlin & Swanson, LLP.