Generally, workers' compensation laws are designed to ensure injured employees receive payment for medical and rehabilitative costs as well as missed work resulting from an injury. The business community in Tennessee is pushing for reform of the current workers' comp system.
However, revisions to Tennessee's workers' compensation laws are not likely to occur in 2012. Instead of reforming the current law, Governor Haslam prefers to review the affect of measures enacted in the 2011 legislative session.
Details Behind the Tennessee Governor's Decision
The measures enacted last year include more precisely defining injuries and easing communication channels between an injured employee's doctor and employer.
Although legislators appear to go along with delaying reforms, the business community continues to voice complaints. The top complaint focuses on the state's court based system for workers' compensation claims and calls to replace it with a commission-based process.
How Revisions May Impact Employees Filing Workers' Compensation Claims
Businesses argue the reliance on a court system to ultimately solve disputes increases the cost of workers' compensation insurance. Worker advocates counter with concerns that a company's bottom line not overshadow the need for an injured worker to receive due process while pursuing compensation.
Another concern focuses on reports of companies misclassifying workers in order to have lower insurance premiums. This is often presented in misclassifying employees as "independent contractors" allowing employers to avoid purchasing extra insurance.
The governor is not ruling out a more broad form of structural reform, and will likely include it in the 2013 legislative session. Following the changes of workers' comp law can be difficult and the system complex to navigate. Injured employees are encouraged to seek the counsel of an experienced workers' compensation attorney to answer any questions you may have and help you pursue your claim for compensation.
