INFOBOX:
"How this will work:"
-An uncontroversial Senate bill is currently pending in the House.
-Wilson will introduce an amendment to that bill on the House floor early next week
-He will effectively offer a "substitute" for the bill, replacing the original with his own -- in this case, the worker's compensation legislation
-After this "substitute" bill passes the House, it will be sent to the Senate
-The Senate can then choose to accept the all of the House's changes as they are, or send the measure to a conference committee. Indications are the measure will be sent to a conference committee -- where negotiators from both chambers will iron out the differences between the House and Senate versions.
-Because the House version contains the entire text of Wilson's worker's compensation legislation, the issue will then be on the table for negotiation.
JEFFERSON CITY - Workers' compensation legislation died last year in the Missouri Senate. With the Senate stalling on a similar bill this year and time running out, Joplin area House members have a plan to effectively bypass the Senate's inaction.
Representatives Kevin Wilson, R-Neosho, and Steven Hunter, R-Joplin, met with House Speaker Catherine Hanaway this week to discuss an alternative way to push worker's compensation forward.
Wilson said Thursday the Speaker signed off on his plan to introduce his entire worker's compensation bill as a so-called "substitute" to an unrelated Senate measure.
That Senate bill, which closes a loophole for elected officials collecting unemployment, has been passed by the Senate and sent over to the House for consideration. If Wilson succeeds in adding on worker's compensation legislation to that bill, the entire issue can then become part of the negotiations between a House and Senate conference committee.
The move would effectively leap-frog the worker's compensation proposal to the end of the process, and force the Senate to deal with an issue they might otherwise have let the clock run out on. Once through the conference committee, both chambers can send the legislation directly to Governor Bob Holden.
"If this is what it takes to get it to the governor, then so be it," said Rep. Marilyn Ruestman, R-Joplin.
Ruestman said she thought worker's compensation was among the most important issues for Missouri businesses -- second only to lawsuit liability limits.
"This is a very large step in the right direction," Ruestman said, regarding Wilson's proposed legislation. "I support it, and I'll vote for it."
If Missouri's senators are put out by the attempt to do an end-run around their chamber, they aren't saying so.
Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, said while he would like to see the Senate act quickly to pass its own bill to revamp worker's compensation, he is in favor of "whatever means are necessary" to move the issue forward.
"I wouldn't have any objection to that," Nodler said of the House plan.
Sen. John Loudon, R-St. Louis County, is the sponsor of the original Senate bill Wilson will use as the so-called "vehicle" for worker's compensation. Loudon said he was "willing to sacrifice any bill of mine" if it meant moving forward with worker's compensation.
"The most important thing to me is to get worker's compensation dealt with," Loudon said, saying the current system was placing an undue burden on Missouri businesses.
Wilson's proposal itself is largely along the lines of what lawmakers dealt with last year.
Wilson said his intention is to curb frivolous claims and return Missouri's worker's compensation system to its "original intent."
"Just because you're at work and something happens doesn't necessarily mean it's work-related," Wilson said. "Worker's comp should be for people who are truly injured on the job."
Currently, an employee can file a worker's compensation claim if his or her work was a "substantial" factor in an injury. Wilson said work should have to be "the prevailing factor" in an injury, to keep the system focused on those employees it was originally designed to compensate.
"If you had a bad knee, for instance, and one day you're in the company cafeteria just carrying your tray across the room, and your knee gives out, right now you can file for worker's comp," Wilson said. "That shouldn't be the case."
By clearly delineating what is work-related, Wilson said both employees as well as employers would be better off. He said right now employers "sometimes feel like they have to fight everything," whereas if the rules are clear, that "should benefit everyone."
Wilson's proposal will also seek to limit involvement by lawyers in the worker's compensation process, by restricting the amount of fees they could charge.
"The whole idea of worker's comp was to get away from a litigious environment," Wilson said.
Renee Slusher, director of the Missouri Division of Worker's Compensation, said many injured employees may need attorneys just to help them navigate the system.
"There are a lot of things attorneys can assist with, whether it's helping an employee get faster medical care, or scheduled more quickly for a surgery," Slusher said.
Slusher cited a recent study by the nonprofit Worker's Compensation Research Institute that found Missouri ranked among the worst states in terms of "timeliness" in dealing with claims.
"A lot of time they will need an attorney just to get things done...in a timely manner," Slusher said.
Wilson will introduce his substitute bill early next week.