Worker's Compensation - Research Paper Example

Compensation of workers is done by an employer to prevent an employee from suing the employer or the company for negligence. Worker’s compensation is carried out after different circumstances (most common accidents) have occurred and affected the capacity of the employee to work as effectively as before of even work at all. In order for the compensation to be effective, the employee must have been injured or had the accident while carrying out duties of the company and not at any other time (Priz, 2010). The circumstances common to deserve compensation include employee being injured to disability level or incapacitation level while active on duty, employees who have been relieved of their duties (sacked) without any prior notice or not according to terms of their employment contract or even when it’s not their fault, or even when the employee is killed in line of duty. The form of compensation is mostly monetary and may be offered directly to the worker or to the immediate family of the worker in case the worker died. History The history of worker’s compensation started even before the industrial revolution and it has remained so till present day. Even though the circumstances of the compensation were slightly different than they are now, most of the reasons for compensation and the types of compensation offered are still similar then and now. The history also runs through not only United States but also Europe and they increased with industrial revolution. In the United States, the history of the worker’s compensation is different for each state. This is majorly because each state has its own statutes and hence sets its own different rules and regulations according to its people. Compensation also started a bit later than it did in countries like Germany and Britain. This research paper is going to focus on worker’s compensation in the United States despite its late start. Worker’s compensation in the United States started in the 19th Century. The first states to experience these labor law changes were Georgia and Alabama around 1855. Even though the law was basically protecting the employer against being sued and not as reformed as it is now, it still served as a worker’s compensation law because the employers paid injured workers to avoid being sued. These Acts were known as Employer Liability Acts. There was another attempt to establish a worker’s compensation law in New York in 1898 but it failed. The first almost successful worker’s compensation law was passed and enacted in Maryland in 1902. The law was initially referred to as workman’s compensation but later changed to worker’s compensation due to the gender equality movement. The first successful worker’s compensation law was passed in Wisconsin in 1911. After this success, other states adopted it and started formulating their own worker’s compensation laws. These laws were however more limited in scope and coverage but reforms have been carried out to improve them. Despite these laws in the different states having almost similar goals, they differ widely and have different compensation forms (Clauss and Ostmann, 2011). Florida Statute Florida’s enactment of the worker’s compensation law was slower than in other states. This was mainly because of its smaller work force. With the growth of their manufacturing and other industries in that state and an increase in the workers, there was need to also formulate and pass a worker’s compensation law. The formulation and enactment of the law was carried out in 1935 (over 20 years since the first worker’s compensation law was officially passed in US). Between 1935 and 1978, there were no changes in the statute, however, from 1978; major reforms started being experienced in this compensation system. Some of the major reforms carried out include the abolishing of the industrial relations commission which was concerned with the law and expanding the Division of Worker’s compensation which was under the newly created Department of Labor and Employment Securities. All these reforms were carried out with an aim to handle the influx of workers under the worker’s compensation scheme in that state. The reforms also reduced the premium rates being paid to workers as compensation for their different injuries. The former premium rates were too high for the employer and the reduction was therefore a form of justice and fairness to the employers. The senate of Florida also revised the bill for worker’s compensation and made it more concrete and deleted provisions that seemed obsolete. The new workers compensation act therefore had concepts, definitions and directions on worker’s compensation scheme and system and is stipulated in chapter 440 of the Florida statute. The new act has clauses like exemption one which stipulates that those people not qualified under the given definition of “employee” in the statute cannot be given compensation. Under the same chapter, there is stipulated the compensation or benefits and employer is supposed to pay an employee who suffers accidental injury. These compensations and benefits according to the statute differ depending on what type of injury the employee suffered and how they suffered it. The compensation mentioned includes treatment and monetary benefits for the injured employee to be made by the employer, also employees covered by other liability acts cannot be compensated in case they suffer disability or even death (West Publishing Company, West Group and Harrison Company, 2009). Legal and Ethical Concerns One of the ethical concerns is the privacy of the medical records of the employee once they have been injured. There are issues of whether the records will be used for just verification purposes of the employee’s medical condition or that information may be used for other unethical purposes that may eventually harm the employee and even prevent them from obtaining their full compensation benefits (Stout, Kruger and Rogers, 2011). In cases of an employee who has died, there are both ethical and legal concerns of whether the bereaved family will get the correct compensation required and how long that would take. In some cases, employers defraud the family and give less than the required compensation amount or they take so long to give the compensation that it ends up in a legal battle and the family ends up using even more resources for legal purposes. The other ethical concern is the fairness of the benefits being offered to the injured employee compared to the injury he or she has suffered. With most states having stipulated fixed compensation benefits, some of the injured employees may find themselves at the losing end since most are completely incapacitated and cannot work in future but the benefits cannot cover the expenses fully for the future. Conclusion In conclusion, this research is meant to act as an eye-opener to those involved and affected directly or otherwise by the worker’s compensation. Each individual should be aware of the worker’s compensation statute in his or her state and familiarize themselves will all the necessary clauses so that in case of an injury, no ethical or legal concerns will arise and especially issue of being defrauded by the employer or the legal advisor. States should emulate the example of the worker’s compensation Act of Florida state which is comprehensive and therefore cannot be misinterpreted or lead to any legal concerns when it is being applied. Vague laws on worker’s compensation are what open loopholes for legal and ethical anomalies which lead to suffering of either an employer or an employee in the long run. All in all, the worker’s compensation laws have protected both the employer and employee and saved them time that would have been spent in legal battle over compensations after the employee has suffered injuries that are work-related. Even though compensation is not enough to heal the psychological injuries incurred by the employees, the monetary and medical benefits to their families covers the gap of lack of employment benefits (Moore, 2008). References Clauss, C. A. and Ostmann, J. B. (2011). Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor, Petitioner, V. Genevieve O. Rasmussen Et Al. U.S. Supreme Court Transcript of Record with Supporting Pleadings. Washington DC: Gale, Moore, C. D. (2008). Understanding Workers' Compensation Insurance. New York: Cengage Learning. Priz, E. (2010). Worker's Compensation. New Jersey: Advanced Insurance Mgmt. Stout, C. E., Kruger, M. and Rogers, J. (2011). Current Perspectives in Clinical Treatment and Management in Workers' Compensation Cases. California: Bentham Science Publishers. U. S. Supreme Court Records. West Publishing Company, West Group and Harrison Company. (2009). West's Florida statutes annotated: under arrangement of the official Florida statutes, Volume 14, Part 3. Florida: West Group. Read More