Michigan governor to sign workers compensation reform bill

LANSING, Mich.—Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder will sign workers compensation reform legislation into law, the governor's office said Monday.

H.B. 5002, introduced by state Rep. Brad Jacobsen, R-Oxford, includes several substantial changes to Michigan's workers comp law. The revisions include requiring claimants to conduct a "good faith" job search while receiving disability benefits, as well as deducting pension or retirement payments from weekly workers comp benefits.

While Democrats and labor unions said the legislation would erode worker rights and benefits, businesses backed the legislation for its potential to result in a more predictable workers comp system and address costs. Gov. Snyder will sign the bill into law, his office said.

The legislation also would:

• Require an injury to be "medically distinguishable" from an employee's prior condition to be compensable;

• Require an employee's perception of actual events to be grounded in reality for a mental disability to be compensable;

• Limit wage-earning capacity only if an employee were unable to perform all jobs paying the maximum wages in work suitable to his or her qualifications and training; and

• Allow an employee to be treated by his or her own physician after 28 days, rather than 10 days, from the start of medical care.