After decades of managing costs for employers, it’s time for workers’ compensation professionals and public policymakers to turn their attention to the needs of injured workers and think of themselves more as players in a broader safety net, workers’ compensation experts were told last week.
Panelists and audience members at the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) conference in Boston stressed the need for a credible system for injured workers especially as other social safety nets including job security, employer-funded pensions and health insurance are being weakened.