Assignment:
Research Paper
Apply workers' compensation management regulations and concepts to the following workplace scenario:
You are a newly hired environmental safety and health professional for a midsized manufacturer of widgets. You currently have three manufacturing facilities in three separate, but geographically close states. Because of unprecedented growth in the widgets market, your company decides to build another factory. One out of the hundreds of indicators the executive staff is looking for is which one of their current states they operate is most employer friendly. In other words, which state treats employers and employees the same when it comes to regulatory requirements?
Complete a research paper that compares and contrasts the differences between the state of Texas in which you live and two other adjacent states. In your paper, you should discuss the differences and similarities between workers' rights in the three different states (e.g., definition of employee, wages paid, weeks of temporary disability, etc.), identify and explain the commonalities in the fundamental laws of the workers' compensation system in the three states, interpret the resources that are available for employers in each state (e.g., monthly courses taught, written guidance, employer rights, etc.), discuss the types of coverage available to employees in each state, and
argue which state is more employer friendly from an employer's perspective when it comes to administering a workers' compensation program.
Be sure to use the tools provided by the U.S. Department of Labor, Division of Federal Employees' Compensation (DFEC) web page. The webpage is located at https://www.dol.gov/owcp/dfec/regs/compliance/wc.htm. This page provides a link to the workers' compensation board for each of the 50 states as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico. In addition to this resource, you should use a minimum of two other sources. All information from these sources must be cited in APA style.
This research paper must be a minimum of three pages in length and should be written in APA style. The title and reference page are not included in the page count.
Board Question
Under the guidance of workers' compensation law, the basic rule is that if you are temporarily disabled on workers' compensation, the employer may not discriminate against you by termination or layoff. One exception to the rule might be if it is clear through medical evidence that you will be unable to return to your usual occupation. Another exception is if your employer needs to replace your position because of business necessity, though the burden on the employer is very high; they may instead hire a temporary employee rather than replace you.
What are your thoughts around this basic guidance? Should a worker lose his/her job if they are out of work and on workers' compensation? Is it ethical to terminate an employee based on the two exceptions mentioned above? Should the employer be able to make the best business decision and replace the worker? Why, or why not?