 Throughout the course of almost two decades and several hundred cases, Casa has supported severely injured workers in accessing medical care and compensation. Since under current law employers face no consequences for obstructing their claims, there are no guardrails to protect workers from being harmed or retaliated against for speaking up for themselves. We are deeply disappointed that the Act to Protect Injured Workers, which strengthens the workers’ compensation anti-retaliation law, did not pass this session.
After more than five years of legislative hearings, briefings and meetings, the bill had garnered broad support, with over half of the legislature formally signing on in support. Until very recently, the bill had met with virtually no opposition or critique. However, for the first time and at the last minute, industry groups recently raised concerns with some aspects of the proposal. Although we believe that these concerns can and will be addressed, there was no time to do so before the end of the session. We will be well-positioned early in the next session to address these concerns and expand on the broad support we have already built. However, enactment of these basic, urgent protections for some of the most vulnerable and invisible workers will take a real grassroots movement. The fundamental right to seek medical attention and benefits during recovery – free from retaliation or obstruction – will require even more public support and action to be passed in 2025. We hope you will join with us and other workers centers to as we build out a plan to see this project into next year with unstoppable momentum. We have great appreciation for the many ways in which members of our communities have helped the advocacy for an Act to Protect Injured Workers. Thanks to our efforts, a substantial number of Senators signed on to the Budget Amendment associated with the bill. Although we now know the Budget Amendments on the House & Senate side which were proposed will not be moving forward, we are hopeful the momentum which brought us to this point can mean the ultimate passage of the bill before the end of the session. More soon!
~ In solidarity, Casa  We continue to move forward around our advocacy for "An Act to Protect Injured Workers" which has been a longtime legislative priority for us and is perhaps the single most important advocacy priority for our base this 2024 season. The bill provides limited but critical improvements to the Commonwealth’s workers’ compensation law to protect workers against retaliation and ensure access to timely medical care and benefits. S. 1165 was reported favorably out of committee, and Senator Eldridge is filing the same language as a Senate Budget Amendment ('outside section').
Get involved in this next stage of advocacy by contacting YOUR Massachusetts Center and asking for their support on Budget Amendment #133. Making worker's compensation accessible for all and setting up enforceability for anti-retaliation protections benefits everyone! An Act to Protect Injured Workers would: -Clarify the types of employer misconduct & retaliation prohibited under workers’ comp law -Clarify the standard of proof and remedies available for harm caused by employer retaliation -Allow the Attorney General’s Office to investigate and enforce retaliation complaints -Expand notice to employees of workers’ comp rights and prohibitions against retaliation -Require the calculation of workers’ comp benefits based on the minimum wages required by law, even where employers have paid workers illegally at sub-minimum levels -Allow for investigation of problematic insurer claims-handling practices Action Guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ERyfsrodEZSgnSv5QpUklip1UwBYyESb4MJMdbZSDJA/edit?usp=sharing  Casa has continued working ardently with partner organizations and advocates in our Injured Worker Coalition on specific legislative advocacy to improve the lives of injured workers in Massachusetts. This year, An Act to Protect Injured Workers (H. 1927) was reported favorably out of committee once again and passed on to House Ways and Means! Passing this act is so critical because it will add protections into the letter of the law for workers claiming their right to Workers Compensation who might otherwise face intimidation or retaliation from employers. The bill is a carefully crafted, targeted piece of legislation meant to make the process for workers injured on the job to seek medical care and comp benefits in a more accessible way. Co-sponsor Representative Tram Nguyen has now filed the Injured worker bill as Amendment #802 to the House Budget. Next Wednesday, it will be decision time for whether or not the budget amendment gets approved. We continue working with the coalition in communicating with legislators towards the end of favorably influencing the outcome of the budget amendment, which could really make the difference of the bill being passed. Something that anyone can do as a Massachusetts constituent is communicate directly with their State Representative's office expressing support for this bill and encouraging them to sign on to Budget Amendment #802. Every time a legislator hears from a constituent that this issue matters to them can make a difference. The economies in Metrowest and beyond depend on workers in construction and landscaping industries who live and practice trades in our communities and deserve fair access to the support systems offered by law when they suffer on-the job injuries. We also encourage friends and supporters to read the recent Boston Globe Article featuring members of the coalition, including our own Diego Low together with an Injured worker leader: Injured Workers Have Little Recourse Against Rogue Employers. Interested in contacting your legislator? See our how-to guide below:  Above: An updated one-page summary sheet explaining what the Injured Worker Bill entails. This has been one tool used in the follow-up with key legislative offices.  The week before Christmas, Casa took up the cause of a group of hotel housekeepers who had not been paid for their work. As we spoke to one worker after another, it became evident that at least 11 workers were owed wages -- many of them owed a couple thousand dollars and many having been paid with bounced checks. These workers clean hotel rooms at some of the best known hotel chains in the country. They are employed, however, through a labor broker who owes wages to dozens of other housekeepers in various Eastern Massachusetts hotels. This is all too common in a world of increasingly fissured workplaces.
On Tuesday, December 20, a group of allies and Consejo members organized an action at one Wakefield-area hotel where three women were owed wages. Along with a worker representative, we delivered a letter to hotel management asking that they intervene and pursue payment for the workers who clean their rooms. The letter specifically requested that the hotel not fire this bad-actor employer, out of fear that the workers would then never see their pay. Instead, we asked that hotel management oblige the subcontractor to pay the workers the wages he owed them. The peaceful action was productive, as we were able to deliver the letter directly to the head manager and speak with him about the situation. He was thankfully sympathetic and took action, connecting promptly with the labor broker and insisting on payment. By Friday, the three workers had received their back wages. Casa returned to the hotel with a second representative of the workers and they were able to collect all the wages owed and distribute them that afternoon and evening. Casa will be looking at strategies for pursuing strategies for collecting wages for the other dozens of workers owed wages by the broker at other hotels, where we lack the leverage of an ongoing contract. This type of impactful action will be key to effective strategy going forward. Please let us know if you'd be interested joining us for actions like this in the future as we bird-dog these unscrupulous and thieving employers. Ally support and solidarity is crucial! As we approach the end of 2022, please consider financially supporting our work. Donations can be directed to our general work or specifically earmarked for a number of different projects and funds: the Injured Workers Fund, Canasta Solidaridad, COVID clinics, and aid against evictions. Your support allows us to continue our efforts alongside immigrant workers and redistribute funds directly to those in immediate need. In solidarity, Metrowest Worker Center - Casa del Trabajador - Casa do Trabalhador |
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