The Maine state workers’ compensation system is broken. And the scary part about it is that we now have Democrats controlling Augusta, who are controlled by the labor unions, so it’s likely that it will get worse before it gets better. I am just a small business owner with 35 employees in a rural part of Maine with few options for finding employees. How long do the politicians, most of whom have never signed the front of a paycheck, think I’m going to keep getting my head kicked in by a system that is so one sided for employees looking to game the system before I sell or move? I have options. My business is global so I do not have to stay in Maine. So, let me tell you some stories that make me seriously investigate Virginia and North Carolina.
Employee #1, we will call him Roger. Roger had been working for us for a whooping two weeks. He is in his 20s and, by all outward appearance, would have passed any physical test we could have given him, if we did pre-employment health tests. Roger was on the first step of a small ladder. He was literally 10 inches off the ground. Roger hopped off the ladder onto the floor. There were two co-workers standing right there when it happened. Roger did not say “ouch,” “ooo,” or “oh my goodness, my knee!” He said nothing, not a word. He worked the entire Friday shift without any complaint. On Monday morning, we got a call from Roger telling us he could not come to work because his knee hurt. He insisted that this horrible injury occurred when he took the giant 10 inch hop off the ladder. We now had a lost time worker’s compensation case. Roger went to the doctor and convinced him that this was a workplace injury and he needed to go on workers’ comp. A month later, he was still out of work. He was calling the doctor three or four times a day demanding surgery. We finally decided that although Rogers knee hurt, there was nothing wrong with his arms or his brain. We found light duty work doing much needed filing while sitting down the entire time so as not to aggravate his knee. Two weeks after working light duty, Roger quit his job. A couple of months later, he finally wore the doctor down and had surgery. Even though Roger quit his job and we had work for him, we are still paying for his health care issues as we watch our workers’ comp insurance skyrocket. And recently, we found out that he is once again calling the doctor begging for more surgery. Do we know if Roger went snowboarding the weekend he hurt his knee? Do we know if he went mountain biking and hurt his knee? Is there any evidence what-so-ever that Roger hurt his knee from his daring 10 inch jump? Is anybody willing to bet me that Roger’s second surgery request has nothing to do with getting more Oxycodone pills?
True story #2, let’s call her Mary. Mary worked for us for about four years. Approximately two years ago, she hurt her shoulder. Just as Roger did, she came to the medical conclusion that this injury must have happened at work. Can I prove it didn’t? Since you cannot prove a negative, the answer is no. Therefore, by her saying it happened at work, it automatically did. What did Mary do that week that could have hurt her shoulder? No one knows. And it doesn’t matter because SHE said it happened at work. She eventually had surgery, did her physical therapy, and fully recovered. Mary was given no restrictions by her doctor. She was 100% cured. Mary worked for us for another year until she was fired for horribly abusing and bullying a cognitively disadvantaged young man. Over a year later, Mary was working at another company that also required physical work. Suddenly, Mary’s shoulder started bothering her again. Since she has a vast medical background, she determined that the pain in her shoulder happened at my company. So, take a wild guess who has to pay Mary’s workers’ comp fees and any time she cannot work? Guess who’s MOD rate will get jacked up for the next 3 years?! Mary decided a year after being fired for harassment that her new shoulder discomfort happened while working for me, therefore it did. Would anyone like to place a wager whether or not Mary is doing this out of spite for her termination?- Major frustration #3, sorry they are not going to get more reasonable (welcome to my life!). Emilio started working for us nine months ago. Shortly after he started, his back began to feel tight. As you can probably guess by now, Emilio was 100% sure that his injury happened at his new job. That is what he told his doctor. So, that is a fact. Emilio has been on light duty ever since. We discovered not long ago, after months and months of paying him his full hourly rate to do much lower wage light duty work, (yes, we have to do that), that he has a GENETIC problem with his back that he has probably had his entire life. I’ll give you one guess if you can tell me who is now responsible for all of Emilio’s workers’ compensation costs while keeping him on restricted duty work at full pay. If you guessed
me, YOU WIN!
Meanwhile, as a business owner in a state that does little to support the business community, my terrific, hard working employees and I seem to lose every time. And, when I finally call it a day on this insanity, Maine loses. There are several bills in Augusta that will actually make the system LESS business friendly at the same time there are business owners like me thinking, “Why the heck am I here?”
Signed, Dave the small business owner.
Note: Names were changed to protect the, well, I would say innocent but you can be the judge of that.
Dave Greenland,
Frustrated Maine Business Owner
Could be anywhere in Maine.
Heading to a business near you.
