In the next few weeks the board of governors of the Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce will decide if it wants to get involved in several workers' compensation issues that undoubtedly will face the Legislature in January.
The chamber is one of 18 business-related organizations belonging to a coalition put together by the Utah Manufacturers Association, trying to decide which workers' compensation issues to oppose in January or if they should oppose any at all.David Bird, chairman of the chamber's State Legislative Action Committee, told the board several workers' compensation issues were defeated last January, but employee organizations and labor unions are organized and will try to get them passed next year.
The biggest issues are getting a definition of an accident, awarding attorney fees in addition to a workers' compensation award for an injury rather than paying an attorney from the award and determining if workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy for injured workers.
Regarding the latter issue, Bird said because of a Utah Supreme Court decision that allows a subcontractor's injured worker to sue the general contractor, one company recently was forced to pay $500,000 because of a lawsuit.
Bird said the coalition met two weeks ago and received information about which workers' compensation issues would likely go to the Legislature and if business-related groups should oppose them.