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Post by jarhead1976 on May 18, 2011 13:32:38 GMT -5
Actually, I think there are a lot of people out there who'd like to have their own business. There would be many more if we could get the governments hands out of our pockets.
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mwcpa
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Post by mwcpa on May 19, 2011 6:05:31 GMT -5
Generally, worker's compensation laws are a state issue, each state may or may not have it's own laws. In NY, where I operate my business, the insurance policy is written by private insurance companies and rate vary by industry and type of work performed (a clerical workers rate can be pennies per $100 of payroll but a roofer could be as high $25 (or higher) per $100 of payroll). But, in NY, the Worker's Compensation Board (a state agency) processes claims.... that's where problems often occur, both for the employee and the employer.... An employer carrying worker's compensation insurance is a smart thing (what small company employer could afford to compensate an employee due to a workplace accident, what would an employee do if he got hurt on the job and the employer just closed shop and walked away after the accident). A few years ago, NY instituted an aggressive program (Gov Pataki signed it into law) to go after companies that did not have proper coverage and instituted severe penalties for non compliance. The goal was to lower worker's comp premiums by having more pay in..... the result.... mixed..... And, in NY... here's a good one for those who think a corporate entity will "shield" them from liability.... "The sole proprietor, partners or the president, secretary and treasurer of a corporation are personally liable for a business' failure to secure workers' compensation insurance." www.wcb.state.ny.us/content/main/Employers/noncompliancePenalty.jsp
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on May 19, 2011 10:10:34 GMT -5
Some states are killing business with their comp laws. It is more of a determining factor than taxes for some types of business when locating. Some revamping needs to be done in many states. The system is being abused bad enough without the deck being stacked against businesses. Workman's comp IS a TAX. Oh, they can dress it up however they want, but it's just government taking money from the producers and transferring it to non-producers. In 12 years, I've had 17 employees claim or attempt to claim workman's comp for pre-existing conditions, and injuries they sustained NOT on the job, but elsewhere. 9 of them got benefits. Only one employee was injured while working, and that employee didn't even file-- though it would have been a slam dunk. I use ONLY private contractors now. No more W-2 stuff.
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on May 19, 2011 10:11:17 GMT -5
Oh, and the three that didn't get it still sucked up all my time for a month...each.
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on May 19, 2011 10:13:04 GMT -5
I have personal experience with worker's comp. I and three other people fell in our employer's marble-floored lobby one Valentine's Day ( call it the Valentine's Day massacre). I was immediately pressured into coming into work with my legs in braces and the physical therapy that I needed was delayed until the doctor's prescription ran out. To this day, I have problems with my two knees and ankles. Because I over-optimistically skipped the court hearing thinking that I would be fine, I never received a penny of settlement. I also had a friend who was injured in two separate work-related incidents. He had doctor's flatly deny facts that were in the written evidence. His records were so good that I nicknamed him "miles of files." Social Security paid him long before Comp. He had to fight them for years to get anything and that was in spite of having good lawyers and excellent written documentation. This is no sugar-teat. If you are injured on the job, drag yourself to the street and insist you were hit by the crosstown bus. So far as why employees can't get their own insurance, that is easily answered: It is because the BUSINESS CAN AND WILL BE SUED FOR NEGLIGENCE just as you may be sued if a passenger in your car is hurt or if a worker fixing your apartment is hurt through your negligence. You would not expect the passenger to pay your auto liability nor the contractor to pay your home insurance, would you? With respect to your friend there- sure wish I had his boss's attorney info in 2002.
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ugonow
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Post by ugonow on May 19, 2011 10:22:34 GMT -5
There is plenty of abuse on both sides. I personally have viewed many surveillance tapes of people out of work for various injuries.Some are hilarous.One showed a guy coming out of a store with a shoulder injury that prevented him from driving a truck carrying 3 thirty packs of beer,a guy loading hot tubs on a truck that couldn't stock shelves,etc... In some areas, during deer season, the injury rate is so high at some places, they hire temp help . Often,these tapes still do not stop the person from a settlement.
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mwcpa
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Post by mwcpa on May 19, 2011 11:21:30 GMT -5
"I use ONLY private contractors now."
and if you operated in a state like NY and these contractors did not have proper insurance coverage guess who foots the bill..... you....
I see this issue 6-7 times a year for those who do not understand the law and or think this is a way out....
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EVT1
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Post by EVT1 on May 19, 2011 16:34:24 GMT -5
"Workman's comp IS a TAX. Oh, they can dress it up however they want, but it's just government taking money from the producers and transferring it to non-producers."
That's absurd. The government isn't taking the money-it is going to a private insurance company (which I do agree are non-producers).
The only experience I have with it involved a woman that had tbi- employer at fault no question- but it took over 4 years and several lawyers, numerous doctors before she got a dime. She was on SS disability long before the WC claim was settled. The WC insurer fought her at every turn- if 9 of your employees got it then either 1) they were entitled to it, or 2) your insurer sucked ass.
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formerexpat
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Post by formerexpat on May 19, 2011 20:11:58 GMT -5
Depends on how you get rid of workman's comp. If it comes with a requirement to pay for disability insurance for your employee, then maybe it's a good, cost effective idea.
Most of the time, insurance that is run by the government is more expensive than privately run insurance entities - see our deferred annuity block.
The deferred medical insurance block isn't even a private industry product but one has to wonder how much more effective it would be than the ponzi scheme we have now.
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EVT1
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Post by EVT1 on May 19, 2011 20:24:40 GMT -5
What does it say that Social Security Disability which only pays for complete and total disability settled long before Workers Comp even though there was documentation of two separate incidents involving the employer's trucks. It says that the government at least makes a decision based on medical evidence, whereas the insurance company is going to make a decision based on what it can get away with. That's why I don't buy Paul's story- paying claims is not what insurance companies are out to do. Funny thing about those fraud tapes- I have seen them at SSA as well- they resulted in prosecution. One person sees it as evidence of rampant fraud, another sees people not getting away with it.
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