 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. |
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