Posted: November 19th, 2022

Workers’ Compensation in Oklahoma

Workers’ Compensation in Oklahoma
Blog activity:

Safety professionals that manage or are involved in workers’ compensation program management must have a thorough understanding of workers’ compensation rules, regulations, and procedures associated with the state’s workers’ compensation system. Further, they must contribute to controlling workers’ compensation costs through injury and illness prevention and control programs that enhance return to work and mitigate costs. To enhance your knowledge and to bolster learning for all students on this topic, you must complete the course blog activity.

Each student is required to post an entry into the course blog, which addresses the following:

1. Research workers’ compensation rules, regulations, and procedures associated with Oklahoma.
2. In your post, comment on which state (or applicable residential area) you are researching.
3. Within your post, comment on the name of the agency, commission, board, etc. that administers and establishes policy, rules, regulations, etc. for workers’ compensation within Oklahoma and comment on the type of system for the state (e.g. monopolistic, competitive, etc.).
4. Provide a quick overview with regard to where and how state (or applicable area) workers’ compensation laws, rules, regulations, and statutes can be accessed and provide an applicable URL where students could access this information.
5. Provide a discussion whether or not discounts for programs, such as safety rules, drug-free workplace, etc. are offered or administered by the managing agency, commission, or board.
6. Discuss how safety professionals can help control workers’ compensation costs.

Be sure to include citations for cited work and include a reference list. Citations and references should be in APA format. Your blog post should illustrate that you thoroughly researched the administering agency, commission, or board for your state (or local area), have an understanding of how you can access and apply to information that you researched, and should illustrate that you have an understanding as to how safety professionals can help control workers’ compensation costs.

Workers’ Compensation Associated with Oklahoma
Workers’ compensation is an insurance cover that all employers are required by law purchase for the coverage of any illness and injuries related to employment. The Oklahoma state-mandated programs include payments that the law requires to be made to an employee injured or disabled in relation with work (Larson & Larson, 2008). The federal government is responsible for the compensation of federal employees. All the related worker’s compensation benefits laws are available for checking at the State Workers’ Compensation page of the United States Department of Labor’s website: https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workcomp. The Oklahoma state information concerning workers’ comp can also be retrieved from https://ok.gov/wcc/.
The injured employees often receive workers’ compensation insurance regardless of who caused the injuries. None is considered to be a fault and the any amount that the claimant receives will never decrease by his or her carelessness nor increased by the fault of employer’s fault. Nevertheless, a worker is likely to lose his or her workers’ compensation rights if the injuries are as a result of his or her intoxication from alcohols or drugs, or from his or her own intent to injure someone else or himself or herself (Larson & Larson, 2008). Otherwise, these compensation benefits serve as insurance and preclude employees from suing their employers for the injuries already covered.
Employers pay for this kind of insurance. Therefore, an employee should never contribute to the cost of compensation. As directed by the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB), the employer’s insurance holder pays the weekly medical care and cash benefits. The Oklahoma WCB is a state agency that helps to process all the injuries claims. When the board sees it necessary, it determines whether the insurer will reimburse medical care or cash benefits and the compensations payable.
In Oklahoma, the system for workers’ compensation is competitive. While the federal government has an obligation to cover for its own employees, other companies’ workers’ compensation can be handled by private insurance companies. Moreover, the federals can as well cover for their employees through appropriations. Private insurers are often required to act as insurers of last resort. They can also write labor-related compensation policies. However, these private insurers can turn away worst risks, and write comprehensive insurance packages that cover natural disasters, general liability, et cetera. Those exempted from the workers’ compensation can still by their own compensation insurance from CompSource Oklahoma (state funded) or from private insurers.
If an employer employs workplace safety precautions such as rules regarding drug-free workplace, then he or she is guaranteed to receive a workers’ compensation discount. For work place programs, substantially running in accordance with the safety checklist, the employer is qualifies for a 7.5% premium discounts depending on such employer’s workers’ compensation insurance regulations (Moore & Viscusi, 2014). Moreover, if the employer makes a good-faith effort to fulfill certain safety certification criteria, the good-faith shall be considered as a determinant for substantial compliance with certification criteria.
Lastly, the safety professionals can as well help to control safety precautions within the business environment. The objectives are to help workers to reduce workplace injuries, enforce safety precautions and laws, provide reasonable insurance compensation to employers, and manage or ensure prompt delivery of workers compensation schemes. Some of the ways that professionals control safety at work place are; first, to set up safety programs to help in the elimination of workplace hazards and; second, to manage the return-to-work programs that assist the injured employees to quickly get back to work, and enhance the indirect cost benefits due to reduced work absence that might result from injuries (Moore & Viscusi, 2014). Finally, safety professionals can assist in the control of safety precautions within the business environment. The goals are to assist workers in reducing workplace injuries, to enforce safety precautions and laws, to provide employers with reasonable insurance compensation, and to manage or ensure the timely delivery of workers compensation schemes. Professionals control workplace safety in two ways: first, by establishing safety programs to aid in the elimination of workplace hazards; and second, by managing return-to-work programs that assist injured employees in quickly returning to work and enhancing the indirect cost benefits due to reduced work absence that may result from injuries.

References
Larson, L. K., & Larson, A. (2008). Workers’ Compensation Law: Cases, Materials, and Text. LexisNexis.
Moore, M. J., & Viscusi, W. K. (2014). Compensation mechanisms for job risks: wages, Workers’ Compensation, and product liability. Princeton University Press.

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