North Dakota Human Rights Coalition
Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights
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North Dakota Human Rights Coalition Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights |
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Testimony House Bill 1171 Senate Industry, Business & Labor Committee February 28, 2005
Chairman Mutch and members of the Committee, I am Cheryl Bergian, Director of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition. The Coalition includes a broad-based, statewide membership of individuals and organizations interested in the furtherance of human rights in North Dakota; the Coalition’s mission is to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights.
We oppose the changes in HB 1171 that would weaken the protections for workers in capping temporary total disability benefits at 104 weeks or when maximum medical recovery is achieved. It is our understanding that Workforce Safety & Insurance believes that this has eroded the focus of return to work programs. Surely WSI could formulate ways to work with disabled workers on returning to work without draconian cuts in benefits. There is also a question on why the concept of maximum medical improvement is linked to the question of disability/wage replacement: the question of medical improvement does not equate to the question of whether a worker is disabled.
We also oppose the change to the definition of permanent total disability. This change further reduces the disabled worker’s entitlement to “sure and certain” relief when injured on the job. If a disabled worker does not fit the scheduled injuries and does not have a 25% permanent partial impairment, he or she will not be found to have a permanent total disability. Surely there will be disabled workers who will not fit that criteria but who deserve the “sure and certain” relief provided by the workers’ compensation framework of our state.
We ask for a do not pass recommendation on House Bill 1171. I appreciate this opportunity to testify on behalf of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition.
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North Dakota Human Rights Coalition P.O. Box 1961 Fargo, North Dakota 58107-1961 Phone: (701) 239-9323 Fax: (701) 478-4452 Email: humanrights@ndhrc.org
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