| Legislation, Workers' Compensation
N.C. Senate Passes SB 10, State House to vote Feb. 12
Unfortunately, the N.C. Senate voted yesterday to pass Senate Bill 10, which would remove all members of the N.C. Industrial Commission and allow the governor to reappoint new members.
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.
