AWB called on state officials Wednesday to think carefully before going ahead with a proposed 7.6 percent average workers' compensation rate hike.
"You have heard how the day-to-day operations of real jobs providers in this state are affected by any increase in cost, but especially an increase in cost that is this significant at this time," said Kris Tefft, AWB general counsel and government affairs director, during a public hearing in Tumwater.
Tefft's testimony came during the middle of one of six public hearings held by the state Department of Labor & Industries on the proposed rate hike.
Many business owners also testified at the Tumwater meeting, giving first-hand accounts of their frustrations with the workers' comp system, and the damage that will come from a rate hike.
Approximately 65 people turned out for a hearing Thursday in Bellingham, and many of them echoed similar concerns, according to this report in the Bellingham Herald.
It's true that the bad economy partly explains the state's need for a rate hike, Tefft told officials.
But it's far from the only explanation, he said.
Despite fewer overall claims going in the system, the number of long-term claims has been rising for years, which leads to higher medical costs, Tefft said. And the longer a claim stay in the system, the more likely it will become a pension and therefore stay in the system for life.
Washington state award pensions to injured workers at a rate that's "far and way" higher than other states, he said.
Tefft urged officials to join AWB in looking for solutions that will get injured workers back on the job sooner, and cut down on the number of pensions awarded.
Contrary to what some people have suggested, that can occur without attacking worker benefits or lowering the benefits paid to injured workers, Tefft said.
Simple solutions, such as allowing a claim to be settled rather than going on indefinitely, can bring significant savings, he said.
Tefft noted that Washington's workers' comp system is on the verge of its centennial anniversary.
Without reform, Washington runs the risk of celebrating that milestone with a workers' comp system that's insolvent.
"And that's just not acceptable," he said.
The public hearings concluded today in Spokane and Richland.
Final rates will be adopted in late November.
