Olympia Business Watch

Former L&I director joins workers' comp debate with strong letter to lawmakers

Gary Weeks, the former head of agencies overseeing workers' comp in both Oregon and Washington, weighed in today in support of Engrossed Senate Bill 5566.

Weeks, who is now retired, sent a powerful letter to House Speaker Frank Chopp making it clear that he supports voluntary settlement agreements, a key component of ESB 5566 and also the most controversial element of the legislation.

"While I no longer have a dog in the fight that too often characterizes business and labor approaches to workers' compensation reform, I know from experience what has worked and what can benefit both workers and business," Weeks wrote.

Voluntary settlements work.

In Oregon, they were a "central piece" of that state's landmark 1990 workers' comp reform package, Weeks said, and one of the primary reasons that Oregon has not raised its workers' comp premium in more than 20 years.

Ore. labor leaders hailed lump-sum option. Why not here?

Why, exactly, are Washington labor leaders so inflamed over the prospect of voluntary settlement agreements?

Giving injured workers the option to take a lump-sum settlement rather than a lifetime pension from the state Department of Labor & Industries is a key element of Engrossed Senate Bill 5566, the workers' comp reform bill passed by the Senate in a bipartisan vote. It's one way to lower the cost of the system over time (a whopping $1.2 billion the first two years, according to the fiscal note) without reducing worker benefit levels.

But judging by the uproar from Washington's labor union leaders, who are working hard to prevent the bill from getting an up or down vote in the House, you might think it was an idea universally loathed by labor officials everywhere.

That's not the case.

In 1990, Oregon became the most recent of the 44 states to allow voluntary settlement agreements in workers' comp claims as part of a celebrated reform package. The report from the advisory committee that negotiated the landmark bill shows that labor leaders there viewed lump-sum settlements not as a threat, but rather as a benefit.

Another call for House to vote on workers' comp reform

The Herald of Everett joined The Seattle Times today in calling on House members to -- at the very least -- give a hearing to a bill that would address some of the serious problems plaguing the state's workers' compensation system.

A bipartisan majority already approved Engrossed Senate Bill 5566 in the Senate, and yet the bill can't even get a hearing in the House, the paper notes. Its key provision -- allowing injured workers to accept a lump-sum settlement rather than a lifetime pension -- is hardly a radical idea, it added.

The editorial hits on many of the key arguments in favor of the bill: It would reduce ballooning pension liabilities and save the system an estimated $1.2 billion in the first two years; and settlement agreements would be voluntary, with many safeguards built in.

It also notes that Boeing, a major employer in Snohomish County, has called settlement agreements its No. 1 priority in Washington for several years.

ESB 5566 would "make Washington more competitive for business expansion -- just as Boeing may be deciding where to build a supersite to manufacture the next-generation 737," the paper writes.

"Opponents still have an opportunity to make their case," it concludes. "All supporters are asking for at this point is a vote on the matter by the House."

Precisely.

 

Seattle Times: House deserves to vote on workers' comp reform

The Seattle Times called on House leaders this weekend to unstick the one bill that will bring true reform to Washington's ailing workers' comp system.

"The members of the House should be allowed to vote on it," the paper said.

The controversial element of Engrossed Senate Bill 5566 - giving injured workers the option to negotiate a lump settlement rather than take a lifetime pension - is not an attack on workers, the paper said, and is in fact a better answer to the system's problems than the one offered by labor unions and trial lawyers, which is to raise taxes on employers.

"The problem is that is a tax on jobs, and the required increase in the tax is very large, and jobs are in short supply," the editorial correctly observed.

The Columbian also weighed in on workers' comp this weekend with an article that examined some of the reasons for Washington's troubles, including fraud and abnormally high pension awards.

"If you're going to be hurt on the job, Washington is the place to do it," reporter Courtney Sherwood writes in a piece that explores the subject in more detail than most news reports.

TVW examines growing push for workers' comp reform

Last night on "The Impact,"TVW's Jessica Gao tackled the complicated topic of workers' compensation reform. It's shaping up to be a major issue for lawmakers this year.

The program features a discussion with state Reps. Cary Condotta, R-East Wenatchee, and Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, lawmakers with differing views on the subject. The set-up includes AWB's Kris Tefft disabusing the notion that allowing injured workers to enter into voluntary settlement agreements with the state -- a key provision of Engrossed Senate Bill 5566 -- puts them at risk of losing benefits.

"It's  proven technique around the country," Tefft said, noting that 44 states currently allow such agreements. "Should Washington become the 45th, this bill would provide more worker protection than any of the other 44 out there. But the over-arching worker protection in this proposal is that it's voluntary."

Check out the set-up here, including the counter-argument from Washington State Labor Council President Jeff Johnson that injured workers are not in a position to make the best decision for themselves.

The full program is here:

Rewind: Video from state Auditor Brian Sonntag's visit

Yesterday, State Auditor Brian Sonntag addressed AWB's Lobby Lunch crowd. He began by confirming that the state's financial health is not very good. He's got numbers to support the diagnosis.

Auditor Brian Sonntag: State Financial Outlook from Association of WA Business on Vimeo.

Sonntag says the state Employment Security Department is not adequately verifying eligibility of those receiving unemployment payments. With $4.7 billion paid out annually in unemployment benefits, that's a lot of money at risk. Also: The Department of Social and Health Services is not tracking and collecting inadvertent over-payments made to its workers.

Auditor Brian Sonntag: Audits of ESD and DSHS from Association of WA Business on Vimeo.

Sonntag wishes state would stop talking, start acting on reform

In the year since he last spoke at AWB's Lobby Lunch meeting, little has changed except the numbers, state Auditor Brian Sonntag said Thursday.

The state's overall finances remain in sorry condition, the workers' compensation system -- which he warned more than a year ago is in danger of insolvency -- is no better off, and officials continue to spend more time talking about government reform than implementing it.

On the bright side, Sonntag said his office is uniquely positioned to help. He mentioned several reports already produced and some that will soon be out that recommend ways to save money and improve efficiencey. Among them:

• A report on health benefits for teachers and other school employees. His office found that Washington's 295 school districts pay about $1.2 billion in employee health benefits to more than 1,000 different pools, 200 separate medical plans and 10 insurance companies. Making the plans more consistent and bringing them in line with other could save the state $180 million per biennium, he said -- enough to pay salary and benefits for 1,000 teachers.
• A report due out next month will look at the $30 million the state's workers' compensation program pays for prescription drugs, and recommend millions in recommended efficiences.
• Tax amnesty: When he brought up the idea last year, it failed to gain traction. This year, Sonntag noted that the governor's budget includes $24 million in anticipated revenue from a tax amnesty program.

Major reform or major denial in Olympia?

Fresh off Wednesday's unemployment insurance success, Rep. Richard DeBolt told a luncheon audience Thursday at AWB that this year's legislative session has the potential to produce the sweeping regulatory reforms minority Republicans have touted for years.

"We have an opporuntiy to reshape government," said DeBolt, R-Chehalis.

But a trio of lawmakers at Thursday's Lobby Lunch meeting -- DeBolt, Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Bellingham, and Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda -- also questioned whether the majority Democrats in both chambers really understand the situation confronting them.

"Do the Democrats really get it? They're not going to raise taxes. There are no more federal funds," Ericksen said.

As evidence of the disconnect, the lawmakers noted some $360 million in proposed new fees contained in the House budget, the lack of progress on writing the next two-year budget and the apparent over-building of the state's new Department of Information Services building in Olympia.

"Every day I drive by the DIS building, I come to the conclusion, 'No, they don't get it yet,'" Ericksen said.

Employers want to block workplace harassers

AWB's Kris Tefft testifies in support of SB 5552

When an individual becomes the target of threats or harassment, he or she can go to court and ask a judge for a temporary protection order requiring the alleged perpetrator stay away.

When the target of such threats is a company, it's not as simple. Washington law currently does not allow employers to petition courts for protection orders against disgruntled ex-employees or others who threaten and harass their workers

A pair of bills introduced this week propose to change that.

Senate Bill 5552 and House Bill 1591 would give employers essentially the same ability to seek temporary protection orders that individuals currently have, with some safeguards built in to protect victims of domestic violence.

Kris Tefft, AWB's general counsel and government affairs director, called it a modest amendment to the state's existing law that is unfortunately needed because of the increase in workplace violence across the country.

At least 10 other states already allow employers to obtain temporary protection orders, and others are considering it, Tefft told the Senate's Committee on Labor, Commerce and Consumer Protection.

Gov. Gregoire's Keynote Remarks at AWB's 2011 Legislative Day

(Recorded: Feb. 03, 2011) Gov. Chris Gregoire’s keynote remarks at AWB's annual Legislative Day luncheon. Topics include unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, state employee pensions and education.