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Earlier this
month, leaders of California's business
community announced they would fight any
efforts to reverse the workers' compensation
reforms enacted in 2004 (Senate Bill 899). The
group announced the formation of a committee
to oppose three pending workers' compensation
ballot initiatives that would enrich plaintiff
lawyers at the expense of California's
economy.
IBA West
Board of Directors has greed to join the
committee, Californians Against the Job Killer
Initiative (CAJKI), which has hired an
experienced public affairs firm to manage the
campaign. CAJKI is co-chaired by Allen
Zaremberg, president and CEO, California
Chamber of Commerce; Joel Fox, president,
Small Business Action Committee; and Suzanne
Guyan, director of employee benefits for
Costco Wholesale Corp.
"The
passage of workers' compensation reform in
2004 was a critical step forward for small
businesses in California and helped produce
and preserve thousands of jobs in our
state," Zaremberg said. "The ballot
initiatives would eviscerate those reforms,
resulting in massive increases in worker's
compensation costs, and send our economy into
a tailspin. We will rally California's entire
business community to preserve the reforms and
will wage a vigorous campaign against these
job killer initiatives."
SB 899 was
enacted in 2004. Prior to its passage,
workers' comp costs soared to record levels
due to skyrocketing medical costs and
manipulation of the system by plaintiff
attorneys. Since SB 899 was enacted, insurers
have reduced the rates they file with the
Department of Insurance by a cumulative 37.7
percent, according to IBA West.
"It's
not just businesses that are hard hit when
workers' compensation costs climb," said
Joel Fox, president of the Small Business
Action Committee and Co-Chair of CAJKI.
"School districts, cities, counties and
non-profits are also damaged whenever costs go
up. We expect all these groups to be involved
in our campaign. If any of the three
initiatives were to pass, every employer in
California would feel the pinch."
Three
versions of workers' comp initiatives have
been filed and are pending Title & Summary
by the Attorney General. All three would undo
major elements of SB 899 that have contained
out-of-control costs. Two versions would allow
plaintiff attorneys to sue employers in
addition to pursuing a workers' comp claim.
Even though the legislature just raised
benefits in 2002, one of the measures would
force employers to pay for another benefit
increase.
"We knew
opposition groups would launch a major assault
on the reforms," said Stewart Sawyer, IBA
West President, "We cannot afford to let
these groups turn the clock back on reform.
The result would be devastating to the state's
economy.
"This is
precisely why we have re-capitalized our
California First Advocacy Fund so we can
participate in this kind of coalition,"
said Sawyer.
(article
taken from Insurance Journal)
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