Workers compensation opt-out bill advances in Oklahoma

Legislation allowing Oklahoma employers to opt out of their state's workers compensation system advanced Tuesday with supporters predicting adoption.

S.B. 1062 cleared the Oklahoma House Judiciary Committee on an 11-4 vote along party lines. Democrats opposed, saying it would unfairly favor employers by slashing workers comp disability benefits for injured employees.

The bill, introduced by Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, now goes to the House Calendar Committee to decide on whether a full House hearing is appropriate.

A spokesman for the State Chamber of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City predicted Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin will sign a workers comp reform bill this year. He stopped short, however, of predicting that such a bill will contain an opt-out provision.

“That is one of the questions, but we certainly hope so,” he said. In a separate statement, the Chamber called the bill “the most important piece of reform legislation to our state's workers compensation system in more than two decades.”

But Becky Robinson, assistant vice president of risk management for Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. in Oklahoma City, said she believes S.B. 1062 will pass with the opt-out provision intact. Ms. Robinson also is chair of the Oklahoma Injury Benefit Coalition, a business coalition supporting passage.

Among other measures, S.B. 1062, which has already passed the Senate, also would replace Oklahoma's existing court system for adjudicating claims with an administrative arrangement.

Large, nationwide employers have been watching Oklahoma to see whether events there may provide a springboard for passing similar legislation that would allow them to opt out of workers comp systems in other states and establish alternative plans for injured workers.