Legislature(2005 - 2006)CAPITOL 17
03/09/2005 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB171 | |
| HB180 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 171 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 180 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE
March 9, 2005
3:51 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Tom Anderson, Chair
Representative Pete Kott
Representative Bob Lynn
Representative Harry Crawford
Representative David Guttenberg
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Gabrielle LeDoux
Representative Norman Rokeberg
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 171
"An Act relating to the retrospective application and
applicability of the overtime compensation exemption for flight
crew members; and providing for an effective date."
- MOVED HB 171 OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 180
"An Act relating to a special deposit for workers' compensation
and employers' liability insurers; relating to assigned risk
pools; relating to workers' compensation insurers; stating the
intent of the legislature, and setting out limitations,
concerning the interpretation, construction, and implementation
of workers' compensation laws; relating to the Alaska Workers'
Compensation Board; establishing a division of workers'
compensation within the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development, assigning certain Alaska Workers' Compensation
Board functions to the division and the department, and
authorizing the board to delegate administrative and enforcement
duties to the division; establishing a Workers' Compensation
Appeals Commission; providing for workers' compensation hearing
officers in workers' compensation proceedings; relating to
workers' compensation medical benefits and to charges for and
payment of fees for the medical benefits; relating to agreements
that discharge workers' compensation liability; relating to
workers' compensation awards; relating to reemployment benefits
and job dislocation benefits; relating to coordination of
workers' compensation and certain disability benefits; relating
to division of workers' compensation records; relating to
release of treatment records; relating to an employer's failure
to insure and keep insured or provide security; providing for
appeals from compensation orders; relating to workers'
compensation proceedings; providing for supreme court
jurisdiction of appeals from the Workers' Compensation Appeals
Commission; providing for a maximum amount for the cost-of-
living adjustment for workers' compensation benefits; relating
to attorney fees; providing for the department to enter into
contracts with nonprofit organizations to provide information
services and legal representation to injured employees;
providing for administrative penalties for employers uninsured
or without adequate security for workers' compensation; relating
to fraudulent acts or false or misleading statements in workers'
compensation and penalties for the acts or statements; providing
for members of a limited liability company to be included as an
employee for purposes of workers' compensation; establishing a
workers' compensation benefits guaranty fund; relating to the
second injury fund; making conforming amendments; providing for
a study and report by the medical services review committee; and
providing for an effective date."
- HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 171
SHORT TITLE: OVERTIME WAGES FOR FLIGHT CREW
SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVE(S) KELLY
02/24/05 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/24/05 (H) L&C, FIN
03/09/05 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM CAPITOL 17
BILL: HB 180
SHORT TITLE: WORKERS' COMPENSATION
SPONSOR(S): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
02/25/05 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/25/05 (H) L&C, JUD, FIN
03/09/05 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM CAPITOL 17
WITNESS REGISTER
HEATH HILYARD, Staff
to Representative Mike Kelly
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 171 on behalf of Representative
Kelly.
TOM DANIEL, Partner
Perkins Coie Law Firm
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 171.
MIKE HAGELAND, Owner
Hageland Aviation
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 171.
MIKE BERGT, General Manager
Alaska Central Express
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 171.
BRUCE MCGLASSON, President and Owner
Grant Aviation
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 171.
RICHARD CLARK, Pilot
Hageland Aviation
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 171.
IGNATIUS BEANS, Safety Check Pilot
Hageland Aviation
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 171.
KAREN CASANOVAS, Executive Director
Alaska Air Carriers Association
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 171.
MARK JOHNSON, Pilot
Hageland Aviation
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 171.
MICHAEL CHARLIE, Pilot
Hageland Aviation
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 171.
GREG O'CLARAY, Commissioner
Department of Labor and Workforce Development
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 180.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR TOM ANDERSON called the House Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:51:29 PM. Representatives Lynn,
Kott, Crawford, Guttenberg, and Anderson were present at the
call to order.
HB 171-OVERTIME WAGES FOR FLIGHT CREW
CHAIR ANDERSON announced that the first order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 171, "An Act relating to the retrospective
application and applicability of the overtime compensation
exemption for flight crew members; and providing for an
effective date."
HEATH HILYARD, Staff to Representative Mike Kelly, Alaska State
Legislature, said HB 171 clarifies legislative intent by
retroactively removing flight crews from the scope of statutory
overtime compensation required under the Alaska Wage and Hour
Act. It will apply to work performed on or after January 1,
2000, he said.
3:52:47 PM
MR. HILYARD said the Department of Labor has had an uncodified
policy to apply an exemption, but recent class action lawsuits
created confusion. In the Twenty-Third Alaska State
Legislature, Senate Bill 54 codified the informal policy. HB
171 will provide even better clarity, he said.
TOM DANIEL, Partner, Perkins Coie Law Firm, Anchorage, said he
is an attorney concentrating on labor and employment law, and he
is in favor of HB 171. He said he represents Hageland Aviation
in a class action lawsuit brought against Hageland by pilots
claiming overtime. The lawsuit is occurring because the 2003
law was not retroactive, and there are claims being made for the
time period before 2003, when an explicit exemption for pilots
was passed, he said. Since 1949, pilots have been exempt from
overtime under federal law, and under Alaska law there was no
explicit exemption. In the 1980s, the Attorney General of
Alaska issued an opinion that pilots are exempt from overtime.
In 1986, the Alaska Department of Labor sent a letter to the
Alaska Air Carriers Association stating that pilots who carried
passengers or mail were exempt from overtime law. For almost 20
years, air carriers have operated on the assumption that they
did not have to pay pilots overtime, he said. In the late 1990s
a few attorneys started seeing a possible way to sue in court
because courts don't have to follow an attorney general's
opinion.
3:57:12 PM
MR. DANIELS said there are three lawsuits pending against small
air carriers in Alaska claiming overtime for flight crews. The
2003 law to exempt flight crews from overtime pay was not made
retroactive. He said the Hageland lawsuit was initiated by a
single pilot who had lost his job at Hageland and filed a
complaint alleging age discrimination--not a complaint about
pay. The Alaska Human Rights Commission dismissed his
complaint, Mr. Daniels continued, so the pilot found a lawyer
who told him he didn't have much of an age discrimination claim
but he might have an overtime claim. That same pilot had
already stated that he was fairly paid. His case became a class
action suit on behalf of all present and former pilots of
Hageland Aviation, which totals 82 people. Mr. Daniels said
that 60 of those 82 pilots have affirmatively chosen not to
participate in the lawsuit.
MR. DANIELS said Hageland Aviation is a true success story, and
he described the start-up and growth of the company. He opined
that this lawsuit threatens the viability of the business, which
is one of the best in the region and pays its pilots well.
Hageland pays pilots on a daily rate, which means they get paid
even if weather or mechanical problems keep them from flying.
This system benefits the pilot and the safety of passengers.
The end result of this lawsuit, he said, is bankruptcy for a
business that pays its pilots well and provides an essential
service to a region, all due to a technical violation of a law
that was never intended to apply, he said.
4:02:27 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT asked why the date, January 1, 2000, was
inserted.
MR. DANIELS said he thinks it is because the statute of
limitations is two years, but moving the date back further would
be fine.
REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD said he remembers working on this bill
and there was concern that the legislation could affect court
cases, and he was assured that it wouldn't. It's bad public
policy to interfere with court cases, he said.
MR. DANIELS said he was not involved in last year's legislation,
and did not give that assurance.
REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD put it on the record that there were
many legislators that understood that it would not be
retroactive and that it was not a mistake or an oversight.
4:05:07 PM
MR. DANIELS said the law should be retroactive because air
carriers have operated on a 20-year policy of the Department of
Labor. It is unfair to them to be told they don't have to pay
overtime to pilots, and all of a sudden they are being sued, he
said.
REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD said this was a difficult vote for him
and he understands that the Department of Labor and the courts
came up with different interpretations. He said he doesn't
think it is a good idea for the legislature to go back and
change what the courts have done. He added that he generally
has faith in the courts in rendering a good decision.
MIKE HAGELAND, Owner, Hageland Aviation, said the lawsuit is not
for pilots, because only one pilot sued. The lawyer sued on
behalf of other pilots, most of who opted out of the lawsuit
within 60 days. Only one pilot has come forward to state that
he wants to be part of this lawsuit. It's about the lawyers, he
said, they are the ones who stand to gain.
CHAIR ANDERSON said it is also about consistency in public
policy.
MR. HAGELAND said the pilots are still being paid the same way,
and they are happy.
MIKE BERGT, General Manager, Alaska Central Express, said his
company is a cargo carrier based in Anchorage, and the company
supports HB 171. He said the company has been sued by a former
pilot in July 2004 based on a loophole. The pilot is trying to
seek a windfall, he added. Mr. Bergt said he didn't think the
legislature intended to open a two-year window for pilots and
attorneys to seek a windfall.
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG asked Mr. Bergt if he had assumed the
overtime policy was in place, would he have been able to
schedule pilots workably.
MR. BERGT said the company would have altered the pay scale so
that overtime would have been taken into consideration, and pay
would have been similar. In the end pilots would have been paid
the same.
BRUCE MCGLASSON, President and Owner, Grant Aviation, said he
employs about 120 people, and 44 are pilots. Grant Aviation
pays its pilots the same kind of daily rate that Hageland
Aviation does. It does it for safety reasons because it gives
no incentive for pilots to fly in unsafe conditions. Mr.
Hageland is a direct competitor, and Grant Aviation stands to
gain a lot if Hageland went out of business, but he doesn't
think the lawsuit is fair. He said that his company has not
been sued, but because of the law, it is vulnerable to such
lawsuits.
4:14:10 PM
RICHARD CLARK, Pilot, Hageland Aviation, said the company is
fair, honest, and generous. He said he opted out of the lawsuit
because it was unfair.
CHAIR ANDERSON asked if Mr. Clark was content with his salary.
MR. CLARK said he always has been, and the company has always
been fair.
IGNATIUS BEANS, Safety Check Pilot, Hageland Aviation, said he
was born and raised in Mountain Village, where Mike Hageland
started his business. He said he has flown commercially in
western Alaska for ten years. He has known Mr. Hageland for
more than 20 years, and he is fair and honest. "When I heard
about a lawsuit, I was really discouraged." He encouraged the
committee to pass HB 171.
KAREN CASANOVAS, Executive Director, Alaska Air Carriers
Association, said the association represents over 67 carriers in
Alaska. The failure of this legislation would have a direct and
profound impact on small carriers, which are critical to
Alaskans around the state. The companies are abiding by the
Department of Labor policy.
4:19:39 PM
MS. CASANOVAS said the lawsuits are not typically covered by
insurance in Alaska. Small carriers provide transportation for
Alaskans, and a class action lawsuits will put many of them out
of business, she added. The Alaska Air Carriers Association
overwhelmingly supports HB 171.
4:21:14 PM
MARK JOHNSON, Pilot, Hageland Aviation, said his job is the best
he has ever had, and the pay is more than fair. He said in the
early eighties pilots were paid by the flight hour, and it is a
very dangerous way to pay pilots. The fairest and safest way to
pay pilots is the way Mike Hageland pays, he said.
CHAIR ANDERSON asked if there are any witnesses that are opposed
to HB 171. [None came forward.]
MICHAEL CHARLIE, Pilot, Hageland Aviation, said if the lawsuit
is successful it will hurt staff and the whole economy of the
region.
4:26:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT said it is unfortunate that the bill is
before the legislature, which should have addressed the problem
a few years ago. Everyone would have been much happier. He
added that the bill does have judicial impact, and it should be
looked at in the House Judiciary Standing Committee.
CHAIR ANDERSON said, "So your motion is to move the bill out of
committee. I'll object to note that I will, as chairman of
labor and commerce, recommend that it be referred to judiciary
and stricken from being referred to the finance committee." He
withdrew his objection and hearing no further objection, HB 171
was passed out of the House Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee.
4:28:32 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 4:28 to 4:30.
4:30:23 PM
HB 180-WORKERS' COMPENSATION
CHAIR ANDERSON announced that the final order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 180, "An Act relating to a special deposit for
workers' compensation and employers' liability insurers;
relating to assigned risk pools; relating to workers'
compensation insurers; stating the intent of the legislature,
and setting out limitations, concerning the interpretation,
construction, and implementation of workers' compensation laws;
relating to the Alaska Workers' Compensation Board; establishing
a division of workers' compensation within the Department of
Labor and Workforce Development, assigning certain Alaska
Workers' Compensation Board functions to the division and the
department, and authorizing the board to delegate administrative
and enforcement duties to the division; establishing a Workers'
Compensation Appeals Commission; providing for workers'
compensation hearing officers in workers' compensation
proceedings; relating to workers' compensation medical benefits
and to charges for and payment of fees for the medical benefits;
relating to agreements that discharge workers' compensation
liability; relating to workers' compensation awards; relating to
reemployment benefits and job dislocation benefits; relating to
coordination of workers' compensation and certain disability
benefits; relating to division of workers' compensation records;
relating to release of treatment records; relating to an
employer's failure to insure and keep insured or provide
security; providing for appeals from compensation orders;
relating to workers' compensation proceedings; providing for
supreme court jurisdiction of appeals from the Workers'
Compensation Appeals Commission; providing for a maximum amount
for the cost-of-living adjustment for workers' compensation
benefits; relating to attorney fees; providing for the
department to enter into contracts with nonprofit organizations
to provide information services and legal representation to
injured employees; providing for administrative penalties for
employers uninsured or without adequate security for workers'
compensation; relating to fraudulent acts or false or misleading
statements in workers' compensation and penalties for the acts
or statements; providing for members of a limited liability
company to be included as an employee for purposes of workers'
compensation; establishing a workers' compensation benefits
guaranty fund; relating to the second injury fund; making
conforming amendments; providing for a study and report by the
medical services review committee; and providing for an
effective date."
GREG O'CLARAY, Commissioner, Department of Labor and Workforce
Development (DOL), said HB 180 is a composite of hard work by
members of the ad hoc committee on workers compensation, DOL
staff, and various other constituencies in the state. He said
2003 workers' compensation costs were $23 million. Legislation
last year concentrated on readjustments to the adjudicatory
system. "It really only dealt with about $11 million in costs,
or what turned out to be about 4.9 percent of the pie."
4:32:24 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said testimony last year asked the
department why it was not examining medical costs, which is 52
percent of the problem. In 2004, medical costs will be 61
percent, he noted. He said the governor chose to depart from
the ad hoc two-year plan, and present his bill now. He noted
that the ad hoc committee is a volunteer citizen's committee and
has worked on workers' compensation issues for many years.
4:35:17 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said it is important for the
administration to have a bill this year because "we're in a
situation where if we are allowed to go beyond this legislative
session, that the rate increases and premiums that employers
will be looking at next year, will force more small businesses
to close their doors and put more workers on the street." He
said the administration feels that it is near crisis. Of the
16,000 active businesses that are reported by DOL, "I would
venture to say, I don't know of one that wasn't impacted
adversely by workers' comp rates."
4:36:42 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN asked about the ad hoc committee meetings,
and why Commissioner O'Claray said the committee has not met
lately except for this past interim.
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY asked, "Where have they been since 1995
when this problem was continuing to loom?"
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said, "But they did meet this time, is that
correct?"
4:38:07 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said they did, and "frankly, I was
pleased." They put a lot of time in examining issues that need
to be dealt with. They wanted to meet because they recognized
the problems with workers' compensation insurance rates. They
worked very hard and Commissioner O'Claray said he was pleased
with the progress they made, "to a point."
4:38:52 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said, "When we received the product [from
the ad hoc committee], they had apparently made a decision
fairly early in the process, that they would not deal with any
issues that either the labor side or the management side raised
or took issue with." The main issue they decided not to deal
with was medical costs. He read the last paragraph of a letter
from the ad hoc committee:
We would also like to point out that there are more
issues involving workers' compensation that we will be
addressing in the future. These include group self-
insurance, medical cost containment (the medical cost
portion of workers' compensation payments in Alaska
have more than doubled between 1988 and 1992, from
approximately $20 million to in excess of $50
million), review of presumption of compensability, and
review of benefits including health insurance. These
issues will take further research and a great deal of
discussion with various groups, but they must be dealt
with to ensure that Alaska's workers' compensation
system adequately protects injured workers while
maintaining an equitable program for employers.
4:41:09 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said he is pleased the committee has
reconvened, but the governor was not pleased with the result -
"not because they didn't work hard, but because it didn't meet
his goal of trying to arrest the escalating rates." He said he
informed the committee of the decision the governor made and
invited members to participate in the drafting process "over the
weekend."
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said when the ad hoc committee members
began discussing strategy about their own bill, they asked the
DOL person to leave the room.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said the governor drafted his bill in
February and asked how long it was worked on before it was
introduced.
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said "We started working on, I believe it
was Sunday morning, and we worked through the night into the
next day, which was a state holiday for everyone else. I
believe we had an actual bill completed, that we actually
presented, first to the advocates...on Wednesday. Then we had a
press conference on February 21."
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN asked how many working days it took the
governor to prepare his bill.
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said, "Well, state employee working days,
at seven and a half hours a day, probably six, within a two and
a half day period, because we worked around the clock."
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN asked how many days the ad hoc committee
worked on its bill.
4:45:18 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said he doesn't know, but he does know
they spent a lot of time on it. "Remember, they had given us
the results of their particular fruits of their labor...and we
used a major portion of that information in our bill," he added.
He said he got input from consultants and state underwriters as
well.
4:46:00 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY gave an example of a health facility that
doubled its premium rate. "Obviously their charge-out rates had
to go up as well. The statute requires that employers provide
that particular insurance," he added. He then gave the example
of a business of less than 25 people, where premium rates went
from $5,900 to $10,232. A small general contractor business in
Sitka had premiums in 2002 of $146,950, and in 2004 it jumped to
$314,110.
4:47:07 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY then gave an example of the Kodiak Island
Borough where workers' compensation rates went from $24,000 in
2002 to $95,234 in 2005.
4:47:57 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said new hires in Kodiak have been placed
on a maximum of a 30-hour week to save on costs, which denies
workers access to benefits.
4:48:30 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY referred to a newspaper article about the
closure of an Anchorage restaurant, and the owner said that she
could not afford workers' compensation insurance.
LINDA HALL, Director, Division of Insurance, Department of
Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, said last year,
when workers' compensation rates increased by 21 percent, she
got angry calls from employers. Later, she received calls from
employers telling her they were at the verge of having to cut
health insurance because they could not afford to provide both
that and workers' compensation. Now calls are coming in about
employers contemplating closure of their businesses. "These are
wrenching calls for me to deal with," she said. She said she
wants to be able to tell people that the state is trying stop
the increase in insurance rates.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said workers' compensation needs to be
controlled, and the question is how.
4:52:47 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said the governor's bill deals with the
rollback of the reimbursement rates for medical costs on page
18, line 30.
4:54:19 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said he wants to explain the rationale
behind the fee reimbursement rollback to the December 1999
reimbursement rate. "The medical reimbursement schedule that
the Division uses to pay claims for various procedures...whether
it be surgical, whether it be pharmaceutical, whether it be
hospital care, is published in a rather large...book, and it
details the rate of reimbursement that is paid out." He then
noted comparison to other northwestern states, and he said
Oregon's reimbursement rate of $1,500 for arthroscopy is half as
much Alaska's 1999 rate. Oregon uses a Medicare-plus
multiplier, and Alaska considered doing that but decided against
it.
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said the 2004 rate for the same procedure
in Alaska is $3,800, and the 2005 rate is $4,100. "This kind of
gives you some idea of the increases in Alaska's workers'
compensation charges and reimbursement rates between 2000 and
2005 - a 27-percent increase," he said.
4:56:55 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said there is lack of real data. There
are unchallengeable conclusions, he said, but does not want to
wait another year for more data. The bill suggests rolling the
reimbursement rates back and requires a study to be completed by
2007. That will provide the data to determine the proper
schedule of reimbursement, he said.
4:59:21 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said he hopes for assistance from the
medical community. He said he is concerned about specialty
surgeons deciding on their own to deny service.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said he shares that concern.
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said the workers' compensation system is a
sole remedy system; an injured worker must go through this
particular system, and workers cannot sue their employers.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said workers' compensation came to his
rescue when he was an injured police officer.
5:03:20 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said we cannot afford to let this system
break down. We need to act on reforms this year, he said. The
governor's bill creates an appeals panel consisting of one
professional hearing officer, one layperson representing the
employee, and one person representing the employer.
5:04:43 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said the issue of predictability is
important. Certain types of injuries will be awarded at a
certain level, he said.
5:05:18 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said without this, one side or other will
try to push the decision to their benefit. The governor's bill
uses an in-house "super panel," and from there the cases go to
the supreme court. The appeals panel will be empowered to make
legal precedent.
5:06:24 PM
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said access to the superior court delays
settlement of cases up to a year and a half. The two things
that the bill concentrates on is making the system more
efficient and more reactive to injured workers' concerns about
early settlement, and making the system more affordable for the
employer.
5:07:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG asked the administration to create an
organizational chart of the new structure.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN asked for a side-by-side comparison of the
governor's bill the ad hoc bill.
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said yes to both.
5:08:49 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD said he has worked under the Oregon
system, and it is not very good. People do the dangerous work
for us, putting their lives at risk, and we need a workers'
compensation system that takes care of these people, he said.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said he agrees.
5:11:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG brought up job safety, and wondered
what the state was doing.
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said the existing rate structure does not
provide an incentive to employers to have good safety programs.
He said a sawmill in Ketchikan paid well over $400,000 to
workers' compensation and it had less than $50,000 in claims.
Some businesses have zero claims, and he suggested having
incentive for a great record.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said everyone in the room agrees that there
is a serious problem with the workers' compensation situation.
He quoted the bible that says, "Come let us reason together."
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said the governor is the kind of man that
likes to come out with a solution. He said this bill is not the
perfect solution; it is subject to the deliberative process.
The administration is able to work on it this session.
[HB 180 was held over.]
5:16:15 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Labor and Commerce Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at
5:16 p.m.
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