Workers' Compensation Issues in Construction

Abstract

Workmen's compensation insurance laws were enacted in the United States to protect injured employees, who were often unable to attain restitution from employers because they could not afford the costs of litigation. Also, several common‐law defenses available to employers allowed them to avoid payment to injured workers. By 1948 workmen's compensation protection was available in all states, and both workers and employers enjoyed a reasonable system for handling employee injuries and compensation. Today, however, the cost of workmen's compensation insurance has soared, with the construction industry paying an average rate of more than $22.00 per $100.00 of payroll. Also, the costs and the benefits paid vary widely from state to state, often to the detriment of both employers and employees. This paper reviews the basic principles of workers' compensation insurance and some of the key problems associated with it in today's construction industrv.