New Thrive Washington paper on employment cost drivers published today
The latest in the series of white papers published by the Washington Research Council and Washington Roundtable examines workers’ compensation reform and unemployment insurance. In particular, the report urges lawmakers to act this session to fix the state’s broken workers’ comp system. Here’s the link to Employment Cost Drivers in Washington State: The Case for […]
4th of April 2011
Outdated Data in U.S. Chamber Employment Policy Study
AWB’s Olympia Business Watch notes that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has released a study on state employment policies and job growth. In considering the states’ employment policies, the Chamber looked at employment relationships/costs of separation, minimum wage and living wage laws, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation, wage and hour policies, collective bargaining, and litigation/enforcement […]
25th of March 2011
Comparing Savings from Governor's New Workers' Comp Proposal to ESB 5566
Unfortunately, after the good news earlier this week about how much money ESB 5566 (passed by the Senate, but so far stalled in the House) would save the workers’ compensation system, the governor decided to put forward a different set of reform proposals that do not include the full option for voluntary settlement agreements. (For […]
23rd of March 2011
Big Savings From Workers' Comp Reform
As we have reported numerous times, including in a recent policy brief, the Washington workers’ compensation system must be reformed. At the beginning of March, the Senate passed a bill (ESB 5566) that would do just that. Yesterday the fiscal note for the bill was released, and it confirms what we already knew: the provisions […]
15th of March 2011
Workers' Comp Reform: Part 1 Down, Part 2 To Go
Yesterday Governor Gregoire signed SB 5801 into law: “We know we need to help more workers return to good health and back on the job after an injury, as well as reduce costs for our taxpayers and businesses,” Gregoire said. “This bill does both. It improves outcomes for our employees, while saving more than $200 […]
14th of March 2011
Workers' Compensation Needs Fixing
The News Tribune has a good editorial today on workers’ compensation. It questions opposition to the reform bill (ESB 5566) that passed the Senate. Specifically, it questions opposition to the provision that would allow injured workers to choose a voluntary settlement instead of a pension. There’s not much controversy over the subsidy part of the […]
8th of March 2011
New Policy Brief: Time to Fix Workers' Compensation
We have a new policy brief today on workers’ compensation reform. As Dick noted earlier, the compromise bill that passed the Senate over the weekend would move us closer to the national mainstream, and the WRC has made similar recommendations in the past. Reforms like the ones in the compromise bill would help reduce the […]
Editorial support for bipartisan Senate workers' compensation bill…
The Senate passed ESB 5566 last weekend, a good workers’ compensation bill that will move Washington closer to the national mainstream, benefiting both injured workers and employers. The Washington Research Council last year published Mainstreaming Workers’ Compensation: Reforms for 2010. The bill refines several of our recommendations and represents a major step forward for the […]
7th of March 2011
Some Choice in Workers' Comp
On Saturday, the state Senate passed ESB 5566, which makes reforms to the workers’ compensation system. Among other changes, the bill would allow injured workers to choose a voluntary settlement agreement instead of taking a permanent pension. Such permanent pensions are a drain on the system. As part of the governor’s workers’ compensation reform proposals […]
25th of February 2011
Unemployment insurance compromise tough to replicate for workers' comp reform
In the Puget Sound Business Journal today, my column examines the 2011 legislative session’s big accomplishment so far: an agreement on unemployment insurance that drew overwhelming bipartisan support. It’s a good deal, providing tax relief to 90 percent of the state’s employers and increasing benefits for 70,000 unemployed workers. Conditions aligned for this to be […]