December 30., 2012--

The following is an editorial written by State Representative Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga). If you have questions about this commentary, please contact Rep. Byrum's office by calling (517) 373-0587.

The Governor recently signed legislation that induces will result in change to Michigan's worker compensation law.  Our now former worker's compensation system was fair to both the employee and the employer. Employees were granted benefits regardless of fault, and employers were immune to lawsuits from injured employees even if they are admittedly at fault. In fact, the insurance industry's Worker Compensation Research Institute stated that Michigan's total cost per claim was 35% lower than the median of 16 states studied.

Now, for the first time in the 100 year history of Michigan's worker compensation law, Public Act 266 of 2011 allows for the reduction of benefits by factoring in imaginary wages that an injured worker doesn't earn at a job he doesn't have. In the law, wage earning capacity is defined as “whether or not actually earned.” The same thing happens to older workers with regard to pensions.   Under the former law, worker compensation benefits are reduced by the amount of a pension that you actually receive. Under PA 266, your benefits could be reduced by a pension you “are eligible to receive.”   This is a complete perversion of the intent of the workers compensation system, which is supposed to help people get healthy so they can return to work, not force them to retire.

Further, the new law extends the time period that an injured worker is mandated to see the company doctor for an injury from 10 days to 28 days.  This prevents injured workers from receiving timely care by a physician that knows them and their medical history best- their family doctor. Former case law allowed for cutting off benefits for injured workers who were fired for misconduct, a serious legal threshold for appropriate job behavior.  PA 266 uses a much lower standard of “fault,” something that could be as trivial as parking in the wrong parking space or wearing the wrong color shirt.  Worker compensation is supposed to be a no fault system. Compensation is the exclusive remedy for workplace injuries, with no consideration of the fault of the employer or the employee.   This provision reverses that basic premise of worker compensation.

If you have questions about this or any other issue, please call me at (517) 373-0587 or e-mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . I am here to help and my door is always open to you and your family.