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WSIA President's Column
Katrina Zitnik
Costco Wholesale Corp.
President, WSIA
August 2011
Historians are fond of saying that those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it. It is with that in mind that we should take note of two important anniversaries.
First, 2011 is the 100th anniversary of the adoption of workers’ compensation laws in the United States. A handful of states, including Washington, chose to set up a system of benefits which provides sure and certain relief to workers injured on the job (later expanded to include occupational diseases), in exchange for not suing the employer over the injury – declaring the benefits a worker’s “exclusive remedy” in receipt of fair compensation.
This system has generally worked well over the past 10 decades, though it is beginning to show its age: court cases which expand benefits and make the determination of causation and benefit amounts so convoluted as to be unfair to worker and employer alike; the expansion of what constitutes an “occupational disease” beyond the most direct, clear and measurable definitions; and claimant attorney cases, pursued to undermine the exclusive remedy of employers (one need only look at the state “intentional harm” cases, federal RICO cases, and other novel approaches to know this is true.) On top of that, you have the impacts and complexities of federal laws impacting the benefits and administration of workers’ compensation claims: accommodation of the disabled; a broad array of paid and unpaid leave laws; medical information privacy; and the financial health of Social Security and Medicare. Despite these challenges, the system still works well.
Second, the 2011-12 program year is the 40th for the Washington Self-Insurers Association. Our founding by 52 employers in June 1972 marked the beginning of self-insurance for workers’ compensation in Washington State. Through our representation and advocacy on policy issues, our effective and comprehensive training programs, and our conferences on current topics, WSIA has evolved into THE source for workers’ compensation information and expertise in the state of Washington. We have a lot to be proud of, and it is important to take note of our achievements over the years.
Today, we continue to educate and advocate on behalf of our community. Here are some of the issues we’re continuing to work on your behalf:
- The Department is close to issuing a paperless SIF-2 for our use (in MS Word format,) in conjunction with the ability to acquire a block of claims numbers and assign them ourselves. Some of our members are working on converting the document for easier use, and we hope to be able to share that with you soon.
- We’re working with the Department to address long-term issues concerning the purpose and application of audits and penalties. We believe a more focused approach that uses the data we provide them will do a better job of holding individual employers accountable and will better protect injured workers.
- The SICATs system for tracking Continuing Education Credits for Certified Claims Administrators is up and running. We continue to pursue other changes to the Certification and CEC processes as we respond to questions and concerns from our community.
- We’re working with the Department to provide input and information as L&I adopts rules to implement the statutory changes that passed during the 2011 Legislative Session. These include structured settlements, the new Statewide Provider Network, utilization review for self-insurers, and the expansion of COHEs with voluntary self-insurer participation. It is critical that employers are involved in the rule making process so please respond with comments and suggestions when asked by WSIA or L&I.
This is just a sampling of the many issues WSIA is continuing to pursue on your behalf. To stay on top of things, check back here at the WSIA website regularly.
As always, if you ever have any questions or concerns about any issue, please don’t hesitate to contact myself, any of our Board members, or WSIA Executive Director Dave Kaplan.
Updated 18 August 2011
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