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Dear Editor,Once again the Louisiana Association of Self-Insured Employers (LASIE) is launching its annual attack in the legislature on the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act. This year they have managed to convince the Louisiana Association of Business & Industry (LABI) to side with them. Their proposals would eliminate nearly all rights of injured workers.In 2008, the Jindal Administration passed Medical Treatment Guidelines to streamline medical treatment and reduce litigation in workers’ compensation claims – and these guidelines are working. The Governor confirms that costs and litigation are down. The insurance companies are receiving more profits. LWCC, the largest insurer, just announced a $23.5 million dividend. LUBA, another large insurer, is doing so well, they are expanding into other states.Yet, LASIE/LABI are not happy with this progress. They want more profits. The bills they propose will gut nearly all rights of injured workers. The bills will shift the cost of medical care from insurers to Louisiana taxpayers. House Bills 885, 930 and 959 and their Senate counterparts are the main culprits. Among other things, these bills seek to eliminate the right of the injured worker to choose his or her own doctor. The bills would also repeal the Medical Treatment Guidelines, which LASIE/LABI pushed to enact.LASIE/LABI also want to create a Workers’ Compensation Review Board to review ALL workers’ compensation decisions. Of course, they overlook the fact that this will require a Constitutional Amendment, and they offer no suggestions on how our cash-strapped State will fund this.The bottom line for LASIE/LABI is profit. These bills will nearly eliminate all rights of injured workers. Where will injured workers turn for the treatment they need? They will have to seek assistance from the government, either through the Charity Hospital System, or Medicaid and Medicare programs. Who funds these programs? Taxpayers.These proposals will privatize profits and socialize risks and costs.Jim Patterson, a lobbyist for LABI, recently said: “We’re not doing anything to impact the benefits workers receive.”Au contraire.

The Louisiana Legislature has opened its 2012 Legislative Session in Baton Rouge. There are several major reform packages proposed to the Legislature, but the most insulting to injured workers is the workers’ compensation reform package as proposed by big business and insurance companies. These changes will substantially erode the already limited rights of the injured.One of the proposed changes involves eliminating the right of the injured worker to choose her own treating physician. The employer or the insurance company would be able to directly dictate who you are allowed to treat with for your injuries. Isn’t that offensive on every level? Can you think of a more basic right that an injured worker should have? In a system already dominated and controlled by insurance companies, this proposed change is terrible and would leave the injured worker powerless. The right of the injured worker to choose her own doctor must be protected!But that’s not all the insurance companies want to change. The greedy tactics do not end there.They also propose to limit the way in which doctors can treat your injury. They want to eliminate the right to choose the pharmacy of your choice. They want to reduce already ridiculously low wage loss benefits. They want to further delay the appeals process.Please contact your Representatives and Senators by clicking HERE and entering your address. That website will tell you the name of your particular legislators. Contact them and tell them that you are opposed to these offensive proposals. The most outrageous bills that we are opposed to are House Bill 885/Senate Bill 613, House Bill 930/Senate Bill 602 and House Bill 959/Senate Bill 560. Please also contact the House of Representative Labor and Industrial Relations Committee as well as the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee and tell them to vote NO to these proposed bills. Send emails. Leave phone messages. Send faxes.Then call 10 people and urge them to do the same! Together we can protect the hardworking citizens of Louisiana.

The month of March shapes up as a busy, exciting time in Baton Rouge. The 2012 United States Bowling Congress Championships are ongoing and will continue through July at the Baton Rouge River Center. This exciting and unique experience can be made more special by visitors riding in the Trolley Rouge to get to the event.Every Wednesday in March, the Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge will host Lunchtime Lagniappe. This history lecture series begins March 7 with a program titled “Object Lesson: 200 Years of Decorative Arts in Louisiana.”The fun starts early in the morning when the 26th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade rolls on Saturday, March 17, at 10:00 a.m. The parade route begins at the corner of Hundred Oaks Avenue and South Acadian Thruway. This Baton Rouge gem winds through the stately Hundred Oaks neighborhood before finishing at the intersection of South Acadian Thruway and Perkins Road. For more information, visit http://paradegroup.com/, and don’t forget to wear green!More parade fun follows on Saturday, March 24 with the second annual Baton Rouge Irish & Italian Parade. The floats roll at 2:30 p.m. at the corner of Morning Glory Avenue and Stanford Avenue. This vibrant group caravans through Southdowns neighborhood before ending at LSU.Saturday, March 24, also is the day to enjoy the Zapps International Beer Festival at theLSU Rural Life Museum. Attendees will be able to sample over 200 varieties of international, domestic, home-brewed and non-alcoholic beers. There will be live music and jambalaya as well.March 24 is also a good day to do some shopping at the St. Jude Church Silent and Live Auctions. The Silent Auction is in the gym from 11:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and the Live Auction follows at 6:00 p.m. on the deck. The Silent and Live Auctions are the highlights of a weekend full of good music, food, rides and fun. The St. Jude Church Fair begins Friday, March 23, and continues through Sunday, March 25. Come out and join us for some old-fashioned family fun.For those avid fans who are anxious to see some football, the LSU Football Team will hold its Spring Game in Tiger Stadium on March 31 at 12:30 p.m. Fans will get a glimpse of the 2012 team, one that has very high expectations again.Our Baton Rouge area community is thriving and full of wonderful, family-oriented events. Please support these local events and, if you have the time, volunteer for for some of them!

To recover workers’ compensation benefits, an injured worker must be classified as an employee, as opposed to an independent contractor. Some employers attempt to deny benefits by claiming a particular injured worker is an independent contractor, as opposed to an employee. An employer cannot simply label an employee as an independent contractor, thereby evading workers’ compensation coverage. The Louisiana Legislature and the Courts have special rules in place to make this determination.Additionally, this recent news release issued by the United States Department of Labor indicates that the misclassification of employees as independent contractors is improper. The misclassification of employees as independent contractors presents a serious problem because these employees often are denied access to critical benefits and protections — such as workers’ compensation, family and medical leave, overtime compensation, minimum wage pay and Unemployment Insurance — to which they are entitled.