URGENT! Act Now to Stop N.C. House Bill 709

TIME IS RUNNING OUT. CALL YOUR LAWMAKERS TODAY!!!

A bill that would give INSURANCE COMPANIES control of workers’ compensation in North Carolina has been introduced in the N.C. General Assembly. The bill – which WILL BECOME LAW unless we ACT NOW to stop it – strips injured workers of their already minimal benefits and shifts the cost of caring for people who are hurt on the job to taxpayers. If passed, these changes will go into effect IMMEDIATELY AND WILL IMPACT EVERYONE who currently has a workers’ comp claim.

This bill will move quickly through the N.C. General Assembly.
To stop it, WE MUST ACT NOW! READ MORE

Do you have a Workers' Comp claim? Click here.

 

URGENT! Act Now to Stop N.C. House Bill 709

Under House Bill 709, insurance companies want to:

  1. Force you to see a doctor that the INSURANCE company chooses…and not the BEST doctor YOU want
  2. Make it virtually impossible for you to change doctors or consult a specialist while on workers’ compensation, even if you’re receiving BAD care
  3. Take away your benefits if you disagree with the doctor the insurance company hires for you
  4. Cut off compensation for lost income and medical care after 9 years, even for people so severely injured they will never be able to work again.
  5. Give insurance companies the right to talk with your doctor and access ALL your medical records without your knowledge or consent, a clear violation of your privacy
  6. Force injured workers back to work in low-paying jobs that the insurance company deems “suitable”
  7. Shift the cost of caring for injured workers to the taxpayers

Many of these changes WILL AFFECT injured people with PENDING workers’ comp claims, as well as those who are hurt on the job in the future.

This bill is just another insurance industry bailout that will end up costing taxpayers and workers – unless we do something about it NOW.

The insurance industry and the N.C. Chamber of Commerce, which represents the interests of big business, are behind this bad bill to reform North Carolina workers’ compensation system. They have the cooperation of the bill’s sponsors – Dale Folwell (R-Forsyth), Nelson Dollar (R-Wake), Mike Hager (R-Cleveland) and James Crawford Jr. (D-Granville).

With the shift in power in the N.C. General Assembly, these groups think they have the votes to ram this legislation through and make it law WITHOUT debate or public input. But we can stop it, if we act now.

It’s time to contact your elected officials in Raleigh and N.C. Gov. Bev. Perdue and tell them to Vote NO on House Bill 709. CALL OR EMAIL THEM TODAY! Call and email the bill’s sponsors and let them know that you DO NOT SUPPORT HOUSE BILL 709.

If you wait, it will be too late.

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  • Possible Vote on Bad Bill

    The N.C. House Select Committee on Tort Reform is scheduled to consider H709, the bad workers' compensation bill, this Thursday, May 5, at 11 a.m.

    We must defeat this legislation. Call and email your elected officials, as well as the bill’s sponsors and the tort reform committee members, before Thursday’s meeting. Tell them to protect N.C. workers by voting no to this legislation.

  • Contact Lawmakers Today About House Bill 709

    Now is the time to call and write your legislators to tell them to VOTE NO on House Bill 709, which seeks to “reform” North Carolina’s workers’ compensation system by stripping injured workers of their rights and protection and giving control to the insurance companies. These changes WILL AFFECT injured people with PENDING workers’ comp claims, as well as those who are hurt on the job in the future.

    Contact your legislators and Gov. Bev Perdue today about this bill – even if you’ve already called, emailed or written them. Now that the bill has been introduced, it is important for elected officials to hear from their constituents. Otherwise, they may buy into the rhetoric of the bill’s sponsors and the powerful insurance industry lobby who are pushing hard for it to become law.

    Don’t let your lawmakers be hoodwinked into voting for this bill because they believe it’s good for North Carolina’s economy and jobs. House Bill 709 is bad for workers, it’s bad for business and it’s bad for North Carolina. Read more

    Voters also need to contact the bill’s sponsors. Tell them you don’t support House Bill 709 and that you won’t vote for anyone who supports it.

    To make it easy, we’re providing contact information for the bill’s sponsors here. You can find out who represents you in the N.C. House and N.C. Senate here, and you’ll also find phone numbers, email addresses and mailing addresses.

    Sponsors of House Bill 709:

    Rep. Dale Folwell (R-Forsyth)
    Phone: (919) 733-5787 or (336) 748-0046
    Email: Dale.Folwell@ncleg.net
    Address: NC House of Representatives
    300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 301F
    Raleigh, NC 27603-5925

    Rep. Nelson Dollar (R-Wake)
    Phone: (919) 715-0795 or (919) 233-8399 
    Email: Nelson.Dollar@ncleg.net
    Address: NC House of Representatives

    300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 307B1
    Raleigh, NC 27603-5925

    Rep. Mike Hager (R-Cleveland)
    Phone: (919) 733-5749 or (828) 748-2378
    Email: Mike.Hager@ncleg.net
    Address: NC House of Representatives

    300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 306C
    Raleigh, NC 27603-5925

    Rep. James W. Crawford Jr. (D-Granville)
    Phone: (919) 733-5824 or (252) 492-0185
    Email: Jim.Crawford@ncleg.net
    Address: NC House of Representatives

    16 W. Jones Street, Room 1321
    Raleigh, NC 27601-1096

  • Workers’ Comp Reform Bill Worse Than Expected

    On April 6, Rep. Dale Folwell (R-Forsyth) introduced a House Bill 709 to “reform” North Carolina’s workers’ compensation system. The bill, which sponsors are calling “Protect and Put N.C. Back to Work,” is an absolute assault on working people of this state. It eliminates the protections and rights currently available to people who are injured on the job and strips them of their benefits and medical privacy.

    These changes WILL AFFECT injured people with PENDING workers’ comp claims, as well as those who are hurt on the job in the future.

    House Bill 709 is written to profit insurance companies and big businesses. It gives them absolute control over workers’ compensation in North Carolina – with few checks and balances in place to protect injured workers.

    For breaking news about House Bill 709, visit Protect NC Workers and our Facebook page.

  • Sign the Petition

    An ally in the fight against workers’ compensation reform in North Carolina has created an online petition that will be sent to N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue and members of the N.C. General Assembly. Add your name to the petition to let your elected officials know that you don’t support the insurance-led effort to strip workers in North Carolina of their rights. Sign the petition online.

  • N.C. House Committee on Insurance will play key role in workers’ comp battle

    When the bad bill to destroy workers' compensation is introduced in the N.C. General Assembly, key legislators will have tremendous influence over what happens to the bill and what kind of public debate occurs. These include members of the N.C. House Committee on Insurance.

    As you’re contacting your legislators and telling them to VOTE NO on workers’ comp reform, please call, email and write these influential committee members. Read more

    The members of the N.C. House Committee on Insurance are

    Chairman Rep. Dockham
    Vice Chairman Rep. Collins
    Vice Chairman Rep. McElraft
    Vice Chairman Rep. Setzer

    Members: Rep. Blust, Rep. L. Brown, Rep. Brubaker, Rep. Bryant, Rep. Burr, Rep. Crawford, Rep. Current, Rep. Faison, Rep. Floyd, Rep. Folwell, Rep. Glazier, Rep. Graham, Rep. Hamilton, Rep. Howard, Rep. Hurley, Rep. Insko, Rep. Jackson, Rep. Johnson, Rep. McGuirt, Rep. Mills, Rep. Murry, Rep. Pierce, Rep. Shepard, Rep. Steen, Rep. Stevens, Rep. Wainwright, Rep. H. Warren, Rep. Wilkins, Rep. Wray.

    You can find contact information for each committee member here. On that page, you may also sign up to receive email updates about committee meetings and actions.

  • Paralyzed father of three would lose workers’ comp safety net

    During his second week on the job, a 24-year-old construction worker falls from a roof and breaks his back. He suffers a head injury and is paralyzed from the waist down. Through years of rehabilitation, the young man is able to relearn some basic skills, but for the rest of his life he will need ongoing medical treatment and assistance to accomplish everyday tasks. He will never work again. Read more

    Paralyzed father of three would lose workers’ comp safety net

    During his second week on the job, a 24-year-old construction worker falls from a roof and breaks his back. He suffers a head injury and is paralyzed from the waist down. Through years of rehabilitation, the young man is able to relearn some basic skills, but for the rest of his life he will need ongoing medical treatment and assistance to accomplish everyday tasks. He will never work again.

    His ongoing workers’ compensation benefits are the only thing keeping this young father of three and his family out of poverty.

    Because he hadn’t been working for very long or paid in enough to Social Security when he was injured, the construction worker’s monthly Social Security disability benefits are very low – below the poverty line. Without his workers’ compensation benefits, he wouldn’t be able to provide food or shelter for his family, much less pay for his lifelong medical care.

    If pending legislation to reform workers’ compensation is passed by the N.C. General Assembly, disabled people like this construction worker would lose their benefits after nine years. How would he care for this family then?

  • Crippled in the line of duty, officer would get limited support

    A 28-year-old police officer responding to a robbery call is shot in the line of duty. For four years, the officer’s family keeps vigil at the hospital where he is comatose with a bullet lodged in his brain. Read more

    Crippled in the line of duty, offer would get limited support

    A 28-year-old police officer responding to a robbery call is shot in the line of duty. For four years, the officer’s family keeps vigil at the hospital where he is comatose with a bullet lodged in his brain.

    Miraculously, the officer wakes up from his coma. He struggles through years of rehabilitation just to learn to walk, talk and feed himself again. Though he makes incredible strides, doctors say it’s unlikely the young policeman will ever wear the badge again.

    Unfortunately, under a new bill before N.C. lawmakers, the young officer’s workers’ compensation medical benefits run out before he can complete his rehabilitation. That’s because the bill seeks to cap workers’ comp benefits after nine years, even for people like the police officer who was comatose for four years following his injury. How will he pay for his ongoing rehabilitation without workers’ compensation?