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Republicans in the Oklahoma House of Representative followed their counterparts in the state Senate on Jan. 14 by introducing their plan to overhaul Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation system. Senate Republicans unveiled their legislative intent on Jan. 11.

The Republicans say an overhaul of workers’ compensation system is essential to economic development in the state and will be one of their top priorities in this legislative session.

Several bills were filed in the House that would tweak the workers’ comp system to help businesses better control costs, all while protecting workers injured on the job. The goal of the reform is to significantly improve employee benefits and lower business expenses, making Oklahoma more attractive to new industry.

Republicans say there is deep dissatisfaction with the current workers’ comp system, and that it is plagued by fraud and high costs and rarely produces consistently fair, equitable results.

House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa said there will initially be several bills that address varying aspects of the system.

Rep. Dan Sullivan, who has sought changes in the past and chaired an interim study on the issue last year, will again author legislation this session to shore up the system, eliminate fraud, reduce costs and protect workers.

“Our current system does not provide the benefits that injured workers need. In order to truly reform our system, I favor looking at these changes as a two-track process,” said Sullivan, R-Tulsa, in an announcement released by the House. “The first is to make smaller changes that will produce immediate results in efficiency and savings to the system. The second track will look at the structural changes that need to be made which will change the scope of the workers’ compensation system.”

Sullivan said many of the bills filed this year are based on months of collaboration with his working group of longtime industry professionals and The State Chamber.

The reforms being sought will include defining the term “surgery” for purposes of compensation, strengthening the value-added attorney fee provision and capping the time for temporary total disability. A reduction in the number of workers’ comp judges may also be considered, coupled with a more equitable distribution of judges between Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

Another option that may be considered will be a move to an administrative workers’ compensation system, which would limit attorney involvement, among other things. Currently, attorney involvement is 50 percent higher in Oklahoma’s workers’ comp system than the national average, said Rep. Mark McCullough, R-Sapulpa.

Source: Oklahoma House of Representatives

Topics Workers' Compensation Oklahoma