NEGOTIATED WORKERS' COMPENSATION - A "WIN-WIN" PROGRAM

To ensure that every worker is compensated for on-the-job injuries, workers’ compensation insurance is federally-mandated, and no employer may operate without it. However, across the U.S., due to rising health care costs and increased litigation, workers’ compensation premiums are soaring. This rising cost has a big effect on the competitiveness of a company. Negotiated workers compensation programs (NWCP) can help control these escalating costs.

“All sides start with a win-win premise,” says LIUNA Vice President and Midwest Regional Manager John F. Penn. “We negotiate everything else. We should also negotiate workers’ compensation initiatives that operate within the framework of existing state law by complementing the established state program, not replacing it.”

Frequently, in situations without a NWCP, when a worker is injured, a lawyer is hired, and the two sides wrangle until a settlement is reached or a line is drawn. If necessary, the state’s workers’ compensation board decides a just award. Either way, the process is long and some of the award goes to the lawyers.

The most significant mechanism in a NWCP is the advocate, who immediately contacts an injured worker to help with the often complex and protracted compensation process. If a dispute between a worker and the company develops, the advocate attempts to work it out. If facilitation cannot resolve the problem, the NWCP provides for mediation and, sometimes, voluntary arbitration. If all these options fail, the worker may appeal to the state workers’ compensation board.

NWCPs also save money and improve efficiencies by designating health care providers – agreed to by labor and management – that are familiar with workplace injuries and have prices within the mainstream of the local health care market. Another advantage of NWCPs are the return-to-work programs that bring workers back quicker, minimizing compensation loss for workers and lost workdays for employers.

Strategically, the most important advantage of NWCPs may be their establishment of joint labor-management safety committees that identify worksite hazards and adopt procedures and training to minimize their risks.

Learn more about Workers Compensation by visiting www.workerscompensation.com.

For more information on establishing a negotiated workers compensation program, call the Midwest Region Laborers’ Health & Safety Fund at (800) 218-2253.