Lawmakers will take up legislation Monday to increase benefits and generally make the state's workers compensation program more responsive to injured workers and their families.

The Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee is scheduled to meet at 8:30 a.m. Monday at the State Capitol Building in Cheyenne.

Proposed legislation is broken down into three bills. First, a benefits package that addresses a broad range of issues and attempts to update payments based on rising cost of living and medical care. Second, a bill that would create an ombudsman, or advocate, for injured workers. Third, a bill that would extend coverage of mental injuries to include situations such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

The benefits package bill is expected to take up most of the legislators' efforts on Monday. Worker advocates tend to support changes in a version sponsored by Sen. John Hastert, D-Green River. However, the committee will likely work from a version offered by committee co-chairman Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper.

Worker advocate groups said they will offer about 10 amendments.

"We're going to pick it apart one issue at a time and try to come up with the best bill we can come up with," said Kim Floyd, Wyoming AFL-CIO executive secretary.

Advocates support extending mandatory participation in the workers compensation program to all retailers. Currently, retailers such as Wal-Mart don't have to participate in the state program. Another amendment would penalize employers for frivolously fighting a claim.

The workers compensation reserve was $992 million as of June 30, a flush and healthy fund, according to actuary Glenn Wise. There is a surplus. But whether that surplus is $60 million or more than $300 million is ultimately a matter of how the Legislature wants to hedge its bets for the future.

Some business advocates have warned that increasing benefits may prove to be expensive. They've argued for premium rebates. Floyd said the fund is healthy enough to both increase benefits to injured workers and still provide a premium rebate to employers.

Sen. John Hastert, R-Green River, said many of the benefits paid to injured workers were calculated 10 years ago and don't even come close to today's cost of living.

"There will be opposition to cost-of-living inflation adjustments," said Hastert. "But that's not fair, they're still based on that rate from 10 years ago."

Hastert said he believes benefits can be brought in line without bringing a burden on premium payers - the employers. He said he encourages people to attend the hearing so that legislators can see that workers want and need changes in the system, so that it serves both interests workers and businesses.

"We have to be able to better provide services," said Hastert. "I think it's horrible that you have people being starved out and losing their homes, losing their families because they were injured at work."

Committee member Rep. Jack Landon Jr., R-Sheridan, said he will offer about 10 amendments of his own.

"I don't think any of these are earth-shaking. We're just trying to make it more rational and workable for people," said Landon.

Sole proprietors may enroll in the state's workers compensation program. Landon said one amendment would require a sole proprietor who chooses to enroll to also enroll his employees.

Some 1,621 Wyoming employers were delinquent in premiums to workers compensation as of the end of February for a total of more than $1.4 million, according to workers compensation officials. That's more than 9 percent of all 17,718 employers who paid into the system.

Landon said another one of his amendments would allow the division to differentiate between employers in good standing and others when issuing premium rebates.

"I don't want to give a credit to those who aren't participating in good faith," said Landon.

Worker advocates say Wyoming's workers compensation program is a bargain compared to many other states in terms of premiums. And participation in the program also gives an employer almost total immunity from liability, even in cases in which an employer's gross negligence injures or kills a worker.

Another amendment that Landon will offer is raising benefits to children of workers killed or permanently disabled on the job from $186 per month to $250 per month.

Contact energy reporter Dustin Bleizeffer at (307) 577-6069 or dustin.bleizeffer@trib.com

Last we knew: Worker advocates successfully killed a proposal to issue premium rebates to employers, and convinced lawmakers to first study a comprehensive reform of the program focusing on increasing benefits to injured workers.

The latest: The Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee is scheduled to work proposed legislation at 8:30 a.m. Monday at the State Capitol Building in Cheyenne.

What's next: The committee is expected to bring a bill to the full Legislature in the next session.]]->