Scott Statement on Oklahoma Supreme Court Decision in Workers’ Comp Case
WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down a state law that allowed businesses to opt out of workers' compensation:
“This week, a 7-2 majority of the Oklahoma Supreme Court held the Oklahoma Employee Injury Benefit Act, also known as the Opt Out Act, unconstitutional as a special law because it ‘creates impermissible, unequal and disparate treatment of a select group’ of Oklahoma workers. This model law had drawn nationwide attention for its design which accelerated the race to the bottom for workers’ compensation benefits. While the Oklahoma law has been halted, opt out remains under consideration by state legislatures in almost a dozen states. I have joined with my House and Senate colleagues in urging the U.S. Department of Labor to evaluate its authorities to stem the proliferation of laws like those in Oklahoma and to ensure that states maintain adequate workers’ compensation coverage.”
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BACKGROUND: The Oklahoma Opt Out Act is a pointed attack on the fundamental legal compromise which has formed the basis for workers’ compensation laws for nearly a century—that workers give up their right to sue an employer in tort for most workplace injuries in exchange for a no-fault system of compensation that covers lost wages during the period of disability and medical costs. By allowing employers to arbitrarily define which injuries were covered and which were excluded—and by allowing employers to set the process for medical management and dispute resolution—companies were able to cut their workers’ compensation costs and shift costs for work-related injuries to workers and taxpayers through Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security Disability Insurance. National Public Radio and ProPublica produced an extensive investigative series on this issue over the last year.
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