Worker Compensation
WAL-MART’S WORKER COMPENSATION PROGRAM:
How Wal-Mart’s Workers’ Compensation Practices Are Costing Its Workers, the States and Taxpayers
June 2007
Workers’ Compensation and Wal-Mart
“Over the last seven years, Wal-Mart has “repeatedly and unreasonably” delayed giving injured workers the benefits they were owed under workers’ compensation laws, and, in some cases, WalMart employees were not allowed to file workers’ comp claims at all.”1 — Order issued by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries Our modern system of workers’ compensation laws is a result of the rapid industrial growth taking place within the United States during the 9th and early 20th centuries. With the industrial boom came a corresponding increase in work-related accidents; during that time, the only recourse for a worker seeking compensation for an on-the-job injury was to sue their employer for negligence. In the early 20th century, a gradual increase in state legislation geared towards compensating injured workers appeared.2 Wisconsin enacted the first workers’ compensation law in 9, and by 920 there were just eight states that had yet to enact similar statutes.3 These laws were supposed to benefit both workers and employers by allowing workers to receive prompt payment for work-related injuries, and by insulating employers from paying for pain and suffering or facing punitive damages.4 By 949, all states had adopted a workers’ compensation system of some sort.5 While there are federal workers’ compensation statutes covering longshoreman and harbor workers for example, for the most part workers’ compensation regulations are the jurisdiction of individual states.6 Workers’ compensation laws share many similarities, but important differences exist as well. In five states, the state is the sole provider of workers’ compensation insurance, while in 4 states, state funds compete with private insurers, giving the employer the option to use either.7 Over the years, the
How Wal-Mart’s Workers’ Compensation Practices Are Costing Its Workers, the States and Taxpayers
June 2007
Workers’ Compensation and Wal-Mart
“Over the last seven years, Wal-Mart has “repeatedly and unreasonably” delayed giving injured workers the benefits they were owed under workers’ compensation laws, and, in some cases, WalMart employees were not allowed to file workers’ comp claims at all.”1 — Order issued by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries Our modern system of workers’ compensation laws is a result of the rapid industrial growth taking place within the United States during the 9th and early 20th centuries. With the industrial boom came a corresponding increase in work-related accidents; during that time, the only recourse for a worker seeking compensation for an on-the-job injury was to sue their employer for negligence. In the early 20th century, a gradual increase in state legislation geared towards compensating injured workers appeared.2 Wisconsin enacted the first workers’ compensation law in 9, and by 920 there were just eight states that had yet to enact similar statutes.3 These laws were supposed to benefit both workers and employers by allowing workers to receive prompt payment for work-related injuries, and by insulating employers from paying for pain and suffering or facing punitive damages.4 By 949, all states had adopted a workers’ compensation system of some sort.5 While there are federal workers’ compensation statutes covering longshoreman and harbor workers for example, for the most part workers’ compensation regulations are the jurisdiction of individual states.6 Workers’ compensation laws share many similarities, but important differences exist as well. In five states, the state is the sole provider of workers’ compensation insurance, while in 4 states, state funds compete with private insurers, giving the employer the option to use either.7 Over the years, the
Links: U.S. Department of Labor State Workers’ Comp. Laws http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/statutes/owcp/stwclaw/stwclaw.htm California Department of Industrial Relations http://www.dir.ca.gov/ Colorado Department of Labor and Employment http://www.coworkforce.com/dwc/ Kansas Department of Labor http://www.dol.ks.gov/wc/html/wc_ALL.html Maine Workers’ Compensation Board http://www.maine.gov/wcb/ Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry http://www.doli.state.mn.us/workcomp.html New York State Workers’ Compensation Board http://www.wcb.state.ny.us/ Washington Department of Labor and Industries http://www.lni.wa.gov/ Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/ 5