Sep 08 2008

Texas Work Comp Case Could Have Major Impact On Employers

Published by admin at 6:47 pm under workers compensation

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 4 (UPI) — A Texas court has agreed to rehear a controversial case that could determine whether contract workers ever have the right to sue for injuries at a work site.
Also at issue in Entergy Gulf States Inc. vs. John Summers may be Texas’ unique workers compensation system, which grants immunity from lawsuits to employers but guarantees medical costs and lost wages from injury by the state to employees. Employers may opt in or out of participation.

Immunity did not extend to non-participants or employers of contract workers until a Texas Supreme Court ruling in August 2007.

Rick Levy, general counsel for the Texas AFL-CIO, said the result was that work site owners get a “double bite at the apple” under the court’s initial ruling, which allows them not to pay for the insurance but to still have immunity protection, the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman reported Thursday.

The expansion of lawsuit protection resulted in enough political and legal criticism for the court to agree to an October rehearing of the Entergy case. Both Republican and Democratic legislators had threatened to take action to restore what they saw as a threat to undermine the entire unemployment compensation system.

source - upi.com

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