This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, May 15, 2012 - With the strong suppport of both the state House and Senate, the Missouri General Assembly took action to change the state’s workers’ compensation system. The bill that passed is a narrower version of a bill that was vetoed.
The bill now goes to Gov. Jay Nixon, who has yet to say if he supports or opposes the measure.
The state Senate voted unanimously, 34-0, in favor of the workers’ compensation changes. The House vote was 122-29. The bill, HB 1540, is aimed at protecting an employee subject to workers compensation from liability if a fellow employee is injured or killed on the job due to an accident or “occupational disease.”
Sponsored by state Rep. Tim Jones, R-Eureka, the bill is seen as a way to help reduce businesses’ workers compensation rates. It stems from a 2010 court ruling that said co-workers could be liable.
Both chambers passed an earlier version of the bill, but it was vetoed by Nixon, a Democrat, because of other provisions that were dropped in this later version.
Dan Mehan, chief executive of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the chamber – which backed the original bill – also supports the revised measure. He asserted that changes in the workers compensation system are needed at once.
The chamber, he said, “has heard reports of trial attorneys using the loophole to go after the personal assets of co-workers of employees who were killed at a Joplin business during last year’s tornado. “
However, the chamber and some legislators on both sides of the workers compensation debate are concerned that the final bill doesn’t address the serious underfunding problem plaguing the Second Injury Fund, a workers compensation program for people with pre-existing conditions or disabilities who become injured on the job.
