Injured workers, joined by a growing number of faith-based, labor
and community organizations, urge their State representatives
to address their concerns by passing the Justice for Injured Workers'
Bill this year. A similar bill in the Assembly, A.B. 8260, was
introduced in January, 2004, and will be reintroduced as A.B.
8260-A by Assembly Member Susan John.
Workers all over New York State, especially women, are being
worked to death. Whether in factories, offices, construction sites,
private homes, the service sector, or elsewhere, they are being
forced to work inordinately long hours of overtime, and the pressure
to work harder keeps mounting. As a result, life-altering injuries
and health problems are afflicting increasing numbers of workers.
After injury, many can no longer work and spend their days waiting-five
years, ten years, or even longer-for Workers' Compensation benefits.
According to current Workers' Compensation laws, benefits will
be received in a timely and expeditious fashion-in fact "within
18 days after the first day of disability…" However,
the experiences of injured workers testify to years of waiting
for claims to be adjudicated while failing to receive necessary
medical treatment and benefits. In the meantime, they face losing
their life savings, their homes, and sometimes, their family and
friends. Most devastatingly, they lose their dignity.
Denying individuals medical treatment and benefits forces them
to return to work to survive, at the expense of their health.
Pushed mercilessly by employers, many injured workers exacerbate
their injuries, are forced to stop working, and have no choice
but to turn to public assistance and Medicaid. The system itself
encourages both insurers and employers to profit on the backs
of injured workers and asks taxpayers to foot the bill.
Already, a groundswell of public and institutional support has
put raising the state's minimum wage high on the Legislature's
agenda. While we support an increase in the state minimum wage,
we call attention to more insidious problems facing working people
today.
Major recommendations:
