Civil Rights And Compensation Programs - 1621 Words

Abstract: Recently several rulings have challenged state Workers’ Compensation programs. In August of this year, a Florida 11th Circuit Court Judge Jorge E. Cueto ruled that Florida s Workers Compensation Act is â€Å"facially unconstitutional as long as it contains Section 440.11 (Workers’ Compensation) as an exclusive replacement remedy†, challenging the Constitutionality of the program. Others have called into question the appeals process and the adequacy of compensation. This paper argues that the direction of such a ruling may auger the recalibration of â€Å"average justice†, whereby the worker (or the settlement beneficiary in the case of death) receives greater benefits. Medical coverage, disability compensation and pay would†¦show more content†¦Development of Workers’ Compensation Issues relating to Workers’ Compensation and its evolution are particularly important to those working in the medical field. Workers’ Compensation law affects us, in the medical field, as employers and employees, as an industry dependent upon medical care insurance or benefit-programs of various types, and of course, as the industry that provides care to those who are injured at work. Worker’s Compensation programs first appeared a century ago in the U.S., introduced on a voluntary basis. At a time when few employers provided insurance or benefits for workers injured on the job it provided workers with insurance regardless of negligence at the cost of forfeiting one’s right to sue. It was an elective law because it was generally held that a compulsory law would force citizens to give up their 14th Amendment rights (to due process) stipulated in the U.S. Constitution. The issue of due process was addressed in 1917 however, as the U.S. Supreme Court, in Central Railways v. White determined that the employee rights to due process was not impeded by compulsory adherence to the limitations of Workers’ Compensation. It argued that torts were in the process of flux in general and that while many injured workers would have a strong case before a jury, just as many employers defending themselves might but for the delay that could injure workers i n particular. Workers’ Compensation was permissible if it offered