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Workers’
Compensation Policy Review Summary
of the Contents – May/June 2007 The article by John Burton, “An Overview of Workers’ Compensation,” ideally will be of value to both neophytes and aficionados in the area. The article provides the historical background for workers’ compensation, which helps explain many of the current attributes of the program, such as the control by the states. The article also provides a capsule of the legal tests for compensability, including both the historical requirements, such as the requirement for an accident, as well as recent developments, such as the requirement that the current workplace injury be the major contributing cause of the worker’s disability. The article also describes the various types of cash and medical benefits provided by workers’ compensation programs.
The article places particular emphasis of recent developments in workers’ compensation insurance arrangements. Since the 1980s, several states have established competitive state workers’ compensation funds, while two states have eliminated their exclusive state funds. Meanwhile, the workers’ compensation insurance markets for private carriers have been deregulated in most states. These changes in insurance arrangements produced some expected and some surprising results for the employers’ costs of workers’ compensation insurance. 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,
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