Labor and business reached a settlement on legislation that will raise the caps on workers’ compensation claims while limiting administrative costs for employers.
Both sides came together before a joint meeting of the House and Senate commerce committees to announce their support for the bill, which is expected to move quickly through the Legislature.
The final bill was the product of about a year of negotiations on a law that was last changed in 2011, leaving the state with among the lowest caps on workers’ compensation claims in the country.
“It’s not a panacea, it doesn’t fix everything that everybody would want, but it is a good balancing test and a good balancing act between the two different parties to these cases,” said Overland Park lawyer Tony Andersen, who represented business.
“Workers’ compensation is a difficult subject,” he said.
“It deals not only with the employees’ injuries but also the employers who are paying into the system to be able to take care of those injuries,” Andersen said. “So that balance has to be met. We believe this bill does that.”
In an interview, Andersen said the industry knew the caps had to be increased.
He said at least Kansas still has caps in place compared other states with no caps that potentially leave employers paying for benefits over a lifetime.
“Is it a complete win for the labor groups? No, it’s not,” he said.
“They had to give up some things to us that we needed administratively to make the system work better for employers in the system,” he said.
Jeff Cooper, the Topeka lawyer representing labor, also praised the compromise.
He said the legislation represents a deal put together by both sides that’s in “everybody’s best interest in the state of Kansas.”
“We believe it does represent a delicate balance and supports the needs and interest and concerns of all the parties in the workers’ compensation system,” he said.
The bill would raise the caps for these workers’ compensation claims:
- Maximum death benefit would increase to $500,000 from $300,000.
- Permanent total disability benefits increase to $400,000 from $155,000.
- Permanent partial disability benefits increase to $225,000 from $130,000.
- A cost-of-living adjustment after 2027 based on increased wages in Kansas.
Businesses won some concessions that would limit their expenses going forward.
Among other things, the legislation would reduce and limit court-ordered independent medical evaluations and allow medical records to be admitted without depositions.
For instance, an administrative law judge may only order one independent medical examination without the agreement of the parties before the start of a pre-hearing settlement conference.
The bill also modifies wage calculations for the injured worker and changes the employee’s burden of proof to be eligible for future medical benefits.
For instance under the bill, if a worker underwent a surgical procedure – or one is anticipated – the employee’s burden is considered more probably true than not to show they need medical care in the future.
With the bill, if there is no surgical procedure, the employee’s burden to prove the need for future medical treatment is by clear and convincing evidence, allowing employers to fully resolve less serious claims.
The legislation also allows cases to be settled on a written stipulation if the worker is older than 18 and both parties are represented by an attorney.
Here’s a complete breakdown of the bill put together by the state Labor Department.
There was no opposition to the bill, and questions from the members of the House and Senate commerce committees were limited.
“This is an issue that we knew we needed to deal with. It is a big issue. It’s a touchy issue,” said Republican state Sen. Renee Erickson, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee.
Erickson said the parties needed to come together to reach an agreement, knowing that whatever lawmakers crafted might have left them disappointed.
“To see this come to fruition to me is monumental,” she said.
