You can read more about Senate Bill 174 in last week’s post about the bad bill, which puts insurance company interests ahead of the rights of injured workers.

The best way stop Senate Bill 174 is to stop it in committee, before it is put for a vote before the full N.C. House of Representatives.

Please call and email members of the N.C. House Committee on Regulatory Reform TODAY and demand they vote NO on Senate Bill 174. We have included a link to a list (with phone numbers, email addresses and mailing addresses) of these committee members here. 

We also encourage you to call your representatives in the N.C. General Assembly to let them know what you think of this bill. Find out who represents you here.

But the insurance industry and big business don’t like to play by the rules. And they’re behind yet another bad bill pending in the N.C. General Assembly that would strip away the rights of injured workers and every working person in North Carolina.

Senate Bill 174, which today passed the N.C. Senate, threatens the medical and disability benefits of injured workers. The N.C. Industrial Commission, our state’s workers’ comp court, has certain rules and procedures in place to protect workers if the insurance company decides to arbitrarily stop paying on a workers’ compensation claim and stop covering medical treatment.

Senate Bill 174 would take away those protections.

If the insurance company stops paying benefits and covering medical treatment, an injured worker would be forced to wait months or years – suffering physically and financially – for a formal hearing at the Industrial Commission before their benefits and medical treatment could be reinstated.

The current law has a fast-track provision that allows injured workers to quickly appeal the insurance company’s decision to terminate benefits.

But Senate Bill 174 would take away this fast-track provision. For injured workers, that would mean no benefits and no medical care for months, and perhaps even years, until a judge decides that workers’ comp benefits should be reinstated.

And guess who has to pay the legal bill for these appeals hearings after workers’ comp benefits are terminated? Not the insurance company, but the injured worker.

Injured people can’t return to work if they don’t have access to appropriate medical treatment. And without workers’ comp benefits, how will these hurting people pay for food, clothing, shelter and other necessities for their families while they’re out of work.

This is a clear example of justice delayed, justice denied that former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger so eloquently warned us about.

Giving the insurance company this kind of power over the health and financial wellbeing of injured and disabled workers is unfair, and it’s unjust.

We have to stop Senate Bill 174 from becoming law, just as we did with Senate Bill 10. 

The N.C. House of Representatives will soon vote on this proposed legislation, Senate Bill 174. They could vote as early as next week.

Call your N.C. Representatives today and demand they vote NO on Senate Bill 174.

Find out who represents you in the N.C. General Assembly here. 

We also encourage you to contact members of the N.C. House Committee on Regulatory Reform and the N.C. House Judiciary Committee and tell them you opposed Senate Bill 174 because it is unfair and unjust.

Find contact information for members of the N.C. House Committee on Regulatory Reform here. 

You can also sign a petition against Senate Bill 174 here.

Find contact information for members of the N.C. House Judiciary Committee here. 

Senate Bill 174 is just the latest effort to dismantle the N.C. workers’ comp court by the insurance industry and big business. You may remember my earlier blog posts about Gov. Pat McCrory’s play to fire the state’s workers’ comp judges. 

Activist voters rallied and called and emailed their elected officials in Raleigh and helped defeat that bill. But a new version of the legislation was just introduced in the N.C. House, House Bill 1011. It seeks to do the same thing that Senate Bill 10 would have done. We need to stop this bad bill, too. 

Sign this petition to let N.C. legislators know that you’re against any changes to the workers’ comp court.  When you’re talking with or emailing your state senators and reps, make sure they know  you expect them to vote against BOTH Senate Bill 174 and House Bill 1011. 

We need to end these attacks on the N.C. workers’ comp system and injured workers.

A new bill to reorganize the N.C. Industrial Commission and other state boards was introduced earlier this week in the N.C. House of Representatives. The new bill, H1011, calls for staggered terms for workers’ comp judges and also would include a two-term limit for Industrial Commission members who decide workers’ compensation cases.

The new legislation seeks would require that half of workers’ comp judges are representatives of employees, while half are representatives of employers.

H1011, however, does require that Industrial Commission judges be attorneys or experts in workers’ compensation law, an important provision to ensure the workers’ comp court functions effectively and efficiently.

H1011 is set for a vote as early as today in the N.C. House of Representatives.

We would like to request that you call your N.C. representatives and senators about H1011. Tell them these proposed changes to the N.C. Industrial Commission are not necessary and that will hurt injured workers. 

Your action helped stopped SB10 in its tracks, and we hope to do the same for H1011.

Find out who represents you in the N.C. Legislature here.

In late April, the N.C. House of Representatives rejected a compromise version of Senate Bill 10 by a vote of 116-0.

State senators and representatives have been wrangling over the controversial bill for months.

We’d like to thank all of you who called, emailed and wrote your elected officials in Raleigh to demand they vote against Senate Bill 10.  We’re certain your action helped defeat this legislation.

While the state legislature won’t consider Senate Bill 10 again, it’s possible that some provisions of the legislation may wind up in other bills.

If that happens, we will let you know so you can reach out to your elected officials again. If you’d like to join our mailing list to get updates on legislation affecting injured and disabled workers, visit our website at www.deutermanlaw.com and click on the Get E-News link on the top right of the page.

Those shows have nothing on the Deuterman Law dancers who are shaking their booties, dusting off their breakdancing skills and practicing their pliés for their big moment in the spotlight.

The Deuterman dancers will be proving their lawyers (and paralegals, too!) have rhythm and heart when they participate in the 24-hour Elonthon dance marathon.

The event, scheduled April 12-13 at Elon University, benefitting Duke Children’s Hospital in Durham. The annual dance marathon is Elon’s largest student-run fundraiser, bringing in thousands of dollars each year to help Duke Children’s Hospital families with treatment and medical expenses.

In addition to fielding a dance team and raising money for the event, Deuterman Law Group will be donating water bottles and tote bags to all competitors.

Our firm investigator, Steve Wagner, who is a graduate of Elon University, also will be speaking at the event.

The bill, which also affects other state boards, quickly passed the N.C. Senate. But the state House amended in an attempt to reign in the governor’s power grab.

The House version called for a  staggered end to terms for workers’ comp judges, rather than allowing the governor to fire them all at once. It also included language that would have required Industrial Commission members to be experts in workers’ comp law. Finally, the House version of Senate Bill 10 would have ensured that the workers’ comp court was comprised of members representing the interests of workers as well as business.

Not surprisingly, the N.C. Senate failed to confirm, or pass, the House version of the bill.

So, Senate Bill 10 has been referred to a conference committee including members of the N.C. House and N.C. Senate. They are working on drafting a bill on which both groups can agree.

Many of you have already contacted your state senators and representatives about this bill. Now, I’d like to encourage you to contact the members of the conference committee and tell them why Senate Bill 10, as originally proposed, should never become law. You can find talking points and facts here.

Members of the Conference Committee include:

From the N.C. House:

• Rep. Tom Murry, Chair
• Rep. Edgar V. Starnes
• Rep. Ruth Samuelson
• Rep. Mike Hager
• Rep. Tim Moore
• Rep. Nelson Dollar
• Rep. Paul Tine
• Rep. William D. Brisson

From the N.C. Senate:

• Sen. Tom Apodaca, Chair
• Sen. Bob Rucho
• Sen. Harry Brown
• Sen. Bill Rabon
• Sen. E. S. (Buck) Newton
• Sen. Shirley B. Randleman

 You can find contact information for each of the conference committee members here.

SB10 passed its first reading in the N.C. House of Representatives this week, and it was referred to committee before being put up for a vote in front by the full state House.

In a report this week by WRAL, McCrory said he expects “major modifications” to the bill before it is put to a vote by the House. Even so, the intent is to give McCrory unprecedented power to clean house and to appoint people who share his political viewpoint to these jobs.

In the case of the workers’ comp court, we expect him to appoint judges biased in favor of the insurance companies and big businesses that helped get him elected, not unbiased judges who will apply the state’s workers’ comp laws fairly.

Never before has a N.C. governor fired entire commissions before. Workers comp court judges and other state commissions have always been allowed to fulfill their terms, even when there has been a change of party in the governor’s mansion.

So that’s why we have a hard time believing McCrory when he says SB is not a power grab, as he told WRAL.

McCrory and Republican lawmakers would then be able to reappoint board members who agree with their philosophy, essentially clearing out Democrats and other dissenters whose terms haven’t yet expired.

“I’m not interested in attaining extra power,” McCrory said, “but I am interested in reducing the size of many of these committees because many of them are so large they’re not workable or productive and they cost a lot of money.”

The purpose of most commissions needs to be re-examined to ensure they have the right “talent” to do their jobs, he said.

Please contact your state representatives and ask them to vote no on Senate Bill 10. You can find out who represents you here.

Please call the governor, as well, at (919) 733-5811 to tell him you oppose this bill and blatant power grab.

If passed, the bill would allow Gov. Pat McCrory to dismantled the state workers’ compensation court and other appointed state commissions. It would give the governor the right to remove workers comp judges whose terms have not expired and reappoint a new slate of politically biased judges who favor the interests of insurance and big business over the rights of injured workers. The bill would also remove certain superior court judges from office and members of other state commissions, giving McCrory unprecedented power to appoint his picks to these important roles.

Some supporters of SB 10 are saying that this type of political house cleaning happens every time a new political party takes control of the governor’s office in North Carolina.

That’s untrue.

I encourage you to educate yourself about Senate Bill 10, and when you do, you’ll see why it’s wrong for North Carolina.

For more background on the issue, check of WRAL’s coverage of SB 10 You can read more coverage here, as well.

Here’s a quick video summery of SB 10, too.

The N.C. Senate passed SB 10 last week, and the N.C. House of Representatives is set to vote on it this week. Representatives from both political parties are concerned about what impact this bill could have on state government and the state court system.

Edgar Starnes, the majority leader in the House, says House Republicans have concerns about the bill, according to news reports.

You’ll want to read the entire story, but here’s an interesting quote from a report ABC 11:

Sponsor Sen. Bill Rabon of Southport acknowledged the bill would give McCrory the ability to set his own mark in government but denied it was a Republican power grab. He said it should make the state more efficient and save $2 million.

This isn’t about saving money. It is about taking political power away from the people of North Carolina and putting it in the hands of big business and insurance companies.

What happened to government by the people, for the people?

The Senate passed the controversial Senate Bill 10 earlier this week, but there’s still time to stop this bad and unconstitutional bill from becoming law.

Find out who represents you in the N.C. House and demand they vote AGAINST SB 10 to protect the rights of every working person in North Carolina.

We’ve created a informational sheet about SB 10 and the impact it will have on our state if it becomes law. You can view a copy of that here.

If this bill becomes law, it would essentially dismantle the Industrial Commission, which decides workers’ compensation cases. This would allow Gov. Pat McCrory to handpick new commissioners (who would have to be confirmed by the General Assembly) and to stack the commission with those who put insurance and big business interests above the rights of injured people.

Removing all commissioners from office and letting the new governor appoint a brand new slate of commissioners is unprecedented. Commissioners have always been allowed to serve their full terms. Once those terms expired, previous governors have exercised their rights to appoint new commissioners.

This bill is a serious threat to North Carolina’s workers’ compensation system and to every working person in the state.

The Industrial Commission will be left without leadership, and it will likely take longer for workers’ comp claims to be heard.

Please contact the governor and your state representatives and let them know that you oppose SB10 and that you expect them to vote against it.

You can find your legislators’ contact information at Who Represents Me?

You can call Governor Pat McCrory at (919) 733-5811.

Here are some talking points:

- The current composition of the Commission, which is already scheduled to change, resulted from the successful collaboration between workers and businesses and passed by a near-unanimous legislature in 2011 and 2012 to protect jobs.

- Shortening Industrial Commission terms will make it harder to attract top people from the private sector for the time-consuming job they have to do in applying the law.

- Quick turnovers at the Industrial Commission will decrease its efficiency when thousands of cases must resolve competently and correctly under the law.

Thank you for acting quickly on this important legislation that could impact the rights of every working person in North Carolina.