Workers’ Compensation Policy Review

Summary of the Contents – July/August 2006

             Workers’ compensation costs vary considerably among employers due to factors such as a firm’s geographical location and industry.  In “Workers’ Compensation Costs in 2005: Regional, Industrial, and Other Variations,” Florence Blum and John Burton analyze the Bureau of Labor data on employers’ costs in 2005.  The workers’ compensation costs for all employers in the private section averaged 2.47 percent of payroll, but there are considerable differences among employers.  In all service-providing industries, for example, costs averaged 1.99 percent of payroll, but the range among specific service industries was substantial, varying from 3.14 percent of payroll in trade, transportation, and utilities to 0.83 percent of payroll in financial industries.

            Constitutional law has provided the basis for challenges to the design of federal and state workers’ compensation laws since the inception of the program in the early 1900s, according to “Workers’ Compensation and Constitutional Law” by John Burton.  Since a 1917 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, the constitutionality of the crucial elements of the workers’ compensation principle – liability without fault for employers and limits on recovery for employees – has been accepted.  In recent years, however, some challenges to workers’ compensation statutes have been successful based on state constitutional provisions, including guarantees of equal protection.  Burton also examines recent efforts to challenge statutes eliminating both workers’ compensation and tort remedies for some workplace injuries and diseases.

            A recent article, “How Much Work-Related Injury and Illness is Missed by the Current National Surveillance System?,” by Kenneth D. Rosenman and his colleagues is summarized.  The authors compared the estimates of the number of workplace injuries and diseases in Michigan for 1999 to 2001 based on the annual survey of employers by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics with four other sources of data.  They report the BLS data missed more than two-thirds of workplace injuries and illnesses that actually occurred in Michigan during those years.

 Information on the Workers’ Compensation Policy Review

             The Workers’ Compensation Policy Review is published six times a year.  Requests for a sample copy or for subscription information can be sent to WCPR, 56 Primrose Circle , Princeton , NJ 08540 -9416; by FAX to 732-274-0678; by e-mail to JBWCR@aol.com; or electronically by visiting the website: www.workerscompesources.com. The January/February 2006 issue (which provides examples of how state workers’ compensation programs can be compared) can be downloaded without charge from the website.