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Yesterday, the NCHBA Legislative Report from the previous week was accidentally sent out. Below is the correct version, which contains important information about one of our legislative priorities. We apologize for the inconvenience.
One of NCHBA’s top legislative priorities took a major step forward this week. H 709 (Protect and Put NC Back to Work), sponsored by Rep. Dale Folwell (R-Forsyth), received a favorable report from the House Select Committee on Tort Reform and will be on the House floor next Tuesday. This bill is the first major reform of the state’s workers’ compensation laws since the mid 1990’s when SB 906 was enacted. The enactment of that measure was widely credited with rescuing the workers comp system. However, in the intervening years, a series of gubernatorial appointments have caused the Industrial Commission to become significantly unbalanced in favor of employee interests. These appointments, and unfavorable court decisions, have produced a system that has increased employer costs significantly beyond the national average and has made it virtually impossible to force employees to return to work. The change in legislative leadership brought about by the result of last November’s election made it possible to seek meaningful reform during this session.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, NCHBA—along with the NC Chamber and the NC Retail Merchants—led a coalition of more than eighty business groups and companies in this effort. The bill, which the committee approved, resulted from countless hours of negotiation with representatives of the plaintiffs bar, the GOP Lawyers Association, organized labor, the NC Medical Society, and the Governor’s office. These negotiations produced a consensus bill which all groups endorsed on Thursday. Quick approval is expected by both the House and Senate and the Governor has committed to sign the bill into law.
Perhaps the major reform in the bill is one which ends the current practice of lifetime temporary total disability benefits. This is accomplished by adopting a cap similar to that of surrounding states while crafting narrow exceptions to this cap for truly deserving cases. A new definition of “suitable employment” will speed return to work. Significant changes are made to the structure of the Industrial Commission including reducing the number of commissioners from 7 to 6, imposing term limits, and subjecting future appointments by the Governor to legislative confirmation. These changes, and many others contained in the consensus bill, will, in time, restore needed balance to the system.
Both NCHBA Executive Vice President Mike Carpenter and Builders Mutual’s Stephanie Gay were key participants in the small group which hammered out this compromise over the past several weeks after many long hours of tough negotiation. In the years to come, the enactment of HB 709 will provide substantial savings to our members and to all employers across the state, while improving the system for injured workers. NCHBA and BMIC were pleased to be able to play such an important role in bringing about this reform. Its enactment will not only be one of the most important acts of this session but of any session.
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