Posted on 02/13/2005 10:46:18 AM PST by NormsRevenge
As an owner/operator of a state-licensed board and care home for the elderly, I can tell you that contrary to what state insurance commissioner John Garamendi is telling the press, we have been hard-hit, once again, with double-digit increases in the cost of workers' compensation ["Rates for workers' comp are dropping," News, Jan. 19].
I have been in business more than 10 years and have never once had a claim. My rates have gone from under 6 percent to more than 23 percent of payroll.
And since 2003, when Garamendi claims business owners have seen average cuts totaling 13.9 percent to 16.6 percent when they renew their policies, we have had increases of 36 percent in 2003, 0.5 percent in 2004 and 42 percent in 2005 - an average of 26 percent for each of the last three years.
Based on the rates just published for 2005, we will again see an increase, although slight, when our policy renews in December.
What the commissioner doesn't tell the press is that while "gross rates" may be declining, the "net rate" paid is still increasing. This is because premium discounts, favorable experience modification rates and credits for providing employee medical insurance have been either reduced or eliminated for the small business.
The direct cost of workers' comp insurance, spread equally over six residents of our care home, is now more than $200 per person per month - an increase of more than $60 per person per month with the last renewal. This cost is significant to the elderly residents we care for.
The workers' comp system is still spiraling out of control, at least as far as small business goes.
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
There is a simple solution. Move to Florida.
Of course that wouldn't be good for the lawyers who finance the Dems who have a permanent majority with safe districts .......
A perfect example of a system which, despite recent improvements, still serves the interests of lawyers and corrupt doctors, NOT injured employees. I am always deeply saddened when I run into employees who have gotten paltry settlements, while premums rise and the lawyers get rich.
Insurers maintain that the biggest changes are yet to come, since most of the law doesn't kick in until next year. However, they are nervous that Garamendi will try to rollback the changes, in his never ending bid for Governor.
bttt
It's not just the verbage of their law, although that may be a big part of it. Another large part of it, though, is the way their courts work, and the way their legal profession works. And of course, it has something to do with the mentality of plaintiffs and juries. Some of those things are not easily controlled.
I may think Kalifornicate's 'bad' re comp, but I have watched for months now, construction at a hospital, workman wearing TOTALLY inadequate apparel for the job. No hardhats,tennis shoes,shorts etc ......I dislike "Gubmint" interference, but it is needed in Flori-DUH where no unions are present to 'watch out' for workers and conditions...including stupidity on the workers part.
Report it. It's already illegal.
This is a major risk for those who employ illegal criminal Mexican aliens. In the future, when the leftists and W have made these criminals even more at home in the US, some/many/all will file workers' comp claims. A small business that has illegally hired a criminal alien and fudged the payroll records so as not to have to pay taxes will have a difficult time finding records that will prove that Jose did not get hurt on a project and is now eligilble for jackpot benefits. Why not file? There will be almost no risk to the alien, the small business that hired the criminal is already a little dirty and the sleazy lawyer doesn't care whose bones he tries to pick clean so long as there is money in it!
Unfortunately the short term "solution" for California business is to hire under the table.
If an insured worker would be paid 15 $ per hour for example, and only takes home $10 per hour after taxes and insurance, a worker paid under the table such as an illegal immigrant can be offered a work for cheaper. For example the illegal might be offered $11 per hour under the table, which ends up being cheaper for the employers and allowing the illegal workforce to make more money than US citizens.
Then to top it off, the legal worker is stigmatized as being lazy and not wanting to do these jobs at 11$ per hour when they were making $15. The legal worker is then forced to move to other careers or work at 11$ per hour-after tax take home only 7 dollars, with a good portion of the taxes ($1000 per every Californian family) taken out going to the social services; emergency health care on demand, education, utilities, and road maintenance for the illegal who took their $15 per hour job to begin with.
Conclusion; The employers in California, (those unscrupulous ones who are putting the honest ones out of business, by profiting due to the underground economy) will actually make out well with these higher insurance costs, at the expense of the legal us citizens the middle class and the honest business owners!
Workmans Comp, another money-grubbing scheme by the fine liberals, should have been squashed decades ago. It continues to drive business costs out of sight, and is driving businesses out of California.
The Liberal Touch, and what it turns things into, does not smell like gold....
Workman's comp rates for construction workers in Florida exceed 50%. So they are all illegal aliens or off-the-books workers or below-the-cutoff subcontractors and are not subject to the tax known as workman's compensation "insurance".
Just another example of unintended consequences destroying the workers and businesses that stupid laws tried to protect. You can't outlaw stupidity, especially in politicians.
...he would improve his bottom line by 25+% by moving his plant into Indiana....
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Yes, it is the case. I do business with people in Nevada that finally broke down, due to the tax-crazy, regulation-crazy California environment, moved to Nevada, and are now doing extremely well -- one small business owner told me he put A MILLION EXTRA DOLLARS IN HIS POCKET last year, just getting away from TAXIFORNIA. I certainly will not retire here (CA) --- I plan to move ASAP. I have spent my whole life and Calif. and watched it go from a mecca, a model for the country under conservative leadership, INTO A LIBERAL S***-HOLE with destoryed economy, destroyed education system, and destroyed demographics.
THE STINKING LIBERAL TOUCH -- I will not tolerate it any longer.
I agree completely. Last week my customer flew out to go over a job and he was telling me about all the water samples he had to take off of his parking lot and roof. He actually has to prove the water running off his property is CLEANER than when it fell from the sky. I about choked laughing so hard while he was telling me this.
eassy, hire ilegials since that is the PC thing to do. Pay them in cash, off the books. You reduce your costs, make more money and put American workers out of a job because they won't work for nothing like a good illegal.
Isn't open borders and no enforcement of our laws great?
Doncha laff now, but AMEN!
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