The terrorist attacks in the United States , including the destruction of the World Trade Center in September 2001 and the Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995, had numerous adverse consequences.  Many workers were killed or disabled by these events.  In “Workers’ Compensation and Terrorist Attacks,” Lex K. Larson and Thomas A. Robinson provide the first comprehensive review of the workers’ compensation cases that resulted from these attacks.  Most workers were successful in their claims, although several workers who experience mental stress or who were not on the premises at the time of the assaults were denied benefits.  Despite the general success of the claimants, Larson and Robinson express a concern that the compensability rules in some jurisdictions, such as Illinois , might not accommodate workers affected by future terrorist attacks.

The adequacy of workers’ compensation cash benefits is examined by H. Allan Hunt in “Benefit Adequacy in U.S. Workers’ Compensation Programs,” which is based on a recent report from a Study Panel of the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI).  Three approaches are used to assess benefit adequacy and the results suggest that cash benefits appear to be inadequate in many jurisdictions. One approach relies on wage-loss studies, which compare benefits received by workers with their earnings losses due to work injuries.  The NASI Study Panel concluded this was the preferred method of determining adequacy, and most Panel members agreed that adequacy requires benefits to replace at least two-thirds of lost wages.  Data for permanent partial disability benefit recipients are available for five states, and the range of replacement rates was from 46 percent in New Mexico to 29 percent in Wisconsin . 

Workers’ compensation costs to employers continued to decline in the fourth quarter of 2004, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Labor.  As discussed by John F. Burton, Jr., in “Workers’ Compensation Costs for Employers 1986-2004,” employers’ costs as a percent of payroll for all non-federal employees declined to 2.26 percent in December, continuing a two-quarter trend since the recent peak of 2.31 percent in June 2004.  Employers’ costs were still higher in December than at the recent low point of 1.85 percent of payroll reached in March 2002. Nonetheless, the employers’ costs of workers’ compensation for all non-federal employees of 2.26 percent in December were lower than the costs in all years between 1991 and 1997.

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 by mail to WCPR, 56 Primrose Circle , Princeton , New Jersey 08540 -9416; by FAX to 732-274-0678; or electronically to www.workerscompresources.com