Calling all Flight Attendants! Please call your N.C. Representative and Senator.   They are trying to change our workers compensation system. 

Legislative Issue Alert: Workers’ Compensation

Prepared by North Carolina State AFL-CIO April 2011

James Andrews, President MaryBe McMillan, Secretary-Treasurer

More Information About the Legislation:

House Bill 709 and Senate Bill 544 have many provisions, some very complicated, but these include provisions that:

• Artificially cut off benefits after 500 weeks in most cases, regardless of whether the worker has any wage earning capacity;

• Severely limit the ability of an injured employee to be treated or evaluated by any doctor except the doctor picked by the employer or the insurance company, and allow benefits to be cut off based upon a claim that the worker is not cooperating;

• Require an injured worker to take almost any job, regardless of pay, or have benefits cut off;

• Give insurance companies almost unfettered rights to examine a worker’s medical records and talk to the treating physician, all without the worker’s permission;

• Reduces the size of the Industrial Commission by two, eliminating two of the more experienced Commissioners and requiring that future appointments be approved by the legislature.

Please call or email your Representative and Senator as soon as possible and ask him or her to oppose HB 709 and SB 544!

Call the capital switchboard at 919-733-7928 and ask to be connected to his or her office. You can also use the contact list on the following pages to call your lawmakers directly.

When you call, be polite. If no one answers, leave a message. Be sure to include your name, phone number, the city or town where you live, and ask for a response.

Tips for Talking About Workers’ Compensation:

Keep these points in mind when talking to lawmakers or others about Workers’ Compensation:

• Our workers’ compensation system is critical to those who are injured in the services of their employers.

• We have a stable system, one that provides generally adequate benefits at a modest cost to employers. NC employers with an average safety record typically pay almost 22% less in premiums in 2010 dollars than 15 years ago.

• Comp costs are rightly born by the employers of injured workers - not taxpayers. Proposed changes would shift those costs to taxpayers as workers and their families are forced to rely more on public assistance.

• Especially in this economy, we don’t need more families without an income or with a reduced income.