Rough Patches Aside, Oklahoma Comp Reform Works, Advocates Say

In his resignation letter to the governor, the first chairman of the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission admitted that mistakes had been made in transitioning the state’s workers’ comp system from a court-driven system to an administrative one.

But Troy Wilson Sr. also recognized the successes: a 22 percent drop in workers’ comp rates and a savings of more than $220 million for Oklahoma employers since the passage in 2013 of what has been called a “landmark workers’ compensation reform law.”

During the first full year of implementation of the Oklahoma reforms, the number of claims disputes filed decreased dramatically, according to Wilson. Under the old system an average of 14,075 claims disputes were filed per year. During the first year under the new system that number dropped to 3,834.

The commission, which was created in 2013 by Senate Bill 1062 and started operating on Feb. 1, 2014, replaces the former Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Court and is charged with overseeing the settlement of workers’ comp disputes.

The legislation also established the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Court of Existing Claims to deal with cases filed before Feb. 1, 2014, and allowed for the creation of a workers’ comp system alternative.

Wilson’s official resignation date is May 31. In a March letter to Gov. Mary Fallin, he said when he accepted the position he “had no idea” how difficult it would be to create a new agency and “that it would involve so many conflicts and difficulties.”

He acknowledged some of the difficulties were “self-inflicted” and included under-funding and “our acceptance of poor legal advice.”

Under the new system, employers are still required to provide benefits either under the workers’ comp system or an alternative, and exclusive remedy applies to all employers. But in February two injured workers filed a constitutional challenge to the portion of the law that allows employers to choose an alternative method of providing for injured workers, saying it denies workers due process of law.

The plaintiffs work for two of 33 companies with opt-out plans approved by Insurance Commissioner John Doak, who was named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

In August 2014 the state attorney general’s office found that the commission had repeatedly violated the state’s Open Meeting Act, including when its members met privately with a potential vendor, improperly discussed personnel and budgetary matters behind closed doors, and terminated 16 workers without taking a formal public vote.

Despite the setbacks, the new workers’ comp system definitely is heading in the right direction, according to Fred Morgan, president and CEO of the State Chamber of Oklahoma.

“The $220 million amount of savings is proof that we were right and the legislature was right in moving to an administrative system, and we think that amount is going to increase in the future,” Morgan said during a late February press conference.

Changing the system “did take an investment and it may take some more investment by the Legislature. But we know it is going to result increased savings for businesses across Oklahoma and better treatment for workers,” he said.

Morgan added that new insurance companies are entering the workers’ comp market in Oklahoma and that the Chamber is hearing from its business owner members that they are seeing decreases in the amounts they pay in premiums.