Guest Editorial: Ala. Workers' Compensation law - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

Guest Editorial: Ala. Workers' Compensation law

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The current Alabama Worker's Compensation Law is unfair to small business concerns; especially those that engage in providing health related services to our homebound elderly and disabled citizens.

These small providers are grouped in the same class code with the multimillion dollar entities such as nursing homes and hospitals for the purpose of determining insurance rates. This places an unfair burden on the small business. 

In addition, the small health care providers do not have the luxury of increasing their rates to meet the excessive burden of complying with the workers' comp law. The insurance rates can run as high as 12% of wages paid, even when there is no claim history for the small health care provider. 

The large entities such as nursing homes and hospitals can self-insure and the small providers are at the mercy of the insurance companies and the self-insured funds. 

The only other option that the Department of Industrial Relations offers to the small business that cannot meet the burden of the current law is to cease doing business.  In a state where the current unemployment rate is around 11% we must focus on saving jobs rather that punishing small businesses.

Guest Editorialist,     
Isaiah Sankey