Key Senator Says No to Sensible Workers' Comp Reform

In the Seattle Weekly, Laura Onstot, whose comprehensive look at workers' comp we cited here, reports that yesterday's discussions of workers' comp reform did not go well for employers hoping to mainstream Washington's workers' comp system.

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Seattle), whose committee oversees workers' comp, made it clear this morning that she will not support any bills related to changing the system because "we just cannot get legislation, policy-wise, through this 60-day short session."

Rep. Steve Conway (D-Tacoma), Kohl-Welles' counterpart in the House, has already said he will not hear any bills on the subject. That makes Kohl-Welles' statements today pretty much the final nail in the workers'-comp reform coffin for this legislative session.

The Weekly's headline: "Sen. Jean Kohl-Welles Kills Workers' Comp Bills

On the Senate Democrats' blog, Kohl-Welles spins it this way: Deliberative approach sought for workers' com.

Kohl-Welles has introduced Senate Bill 6775 which directs L&I to convene a task force to make recommendations on how to improve our Workers Compensation system so that it continues to serve injured workers and is fair to businesses.

Another task force, another year of rising claims, rising premiums, and avoiding essential reforms.

For a clear picture of what's happening, read Austin Jenkins Crosscut report, Labor tightens the screws on Democrats in the Legislature.

I asked [Rick Bender, president of the Washington State Labor Council] last week if organized labor “put its foot” on a workers’ compensation reform bill before it could even get a committee hearing. The bill’s sponsor is Speaker Pro Tem Jeff Morris, a top Democrat in the House. Several other Democrats have signed on as co-sponsors. Bender’s response: “We gave [Democratic leaders] a list of a number of bills that we don't think should be heard [in committee], those that should be heard, and we do that every session."

Bender also acknowledges that Democratic lawmakers can get “a black mark against them” for simply sponsoring or co-sponsoring a bill — like Morris’ workers’ comp bill — that labor opposes. In this case, Bender says the Morris bill is a “very bad bill for injured workers.”

Conway said earlier that business would have to find a compromise acceptable to labor before he'd give workers' comp reform a hearing. There are a lot of things you can say about the way legislative leaders have handled the issue this year. "Deliberative" is not the first word that comes to mind.