Oklahoma Supreme Court passes down decision on workers’ compensation law
By Joy Hampton, The Norman Transcript, Okla. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
"I think that this is a fitting and worthy end to the workers' compensation debate,"
The court ruled that Senate Bill 1062 "is not unconstitutional as a multiple-subject bill" and further stated "
"The ruling today is great news for economic development and jobs in the state of
Most Republicans supported the bill, calling it badly needed reform, but some Democrats said they feared workers would not get the relief they need following job injuries.
The legislation was signed into law
Voting against in the
The legal challenge came from Coates, R-
Sparks said it will be interesting to see how the change in handling workers' comp claims performs in the long run.
"It's one thing to challenge a law on hypothetical situations," Sparks said. "It's quite different when you have actual circumstances that may have unconstitutional results. Like any other law, we'll see how this plays out."
Other local lawmakers are pleased with the
"This law is critically needed across our state to drive down costs and make
The court rejected allegations that the law contains multiple subjects in violation of the Constitution's single-subject rule that legislation address just one subject. Rather, the ruling says all sections of the law are inter-related and refer to the single subject of workers' compensation or the way employees may ensure protection against work-related injuries.
"The new law has already shown significant workers' compensation insurance rate decreases across the state and will continue to bring positive change to our state by ensuring
The current workers' compensation system will now be phased out in favor of the new administrative system, which will go into effect in February.
"I am pleased that the
"The archaic and confrontational system this state has relied on in the past did little for workers, hurt business and only benefited the handful that profited from such a dysfunctional system. This ruling ensures
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