Inside Corporate America’s Campaign to Ditch Workers’ Comp
STANDING BEFORE A GIANT MAP in his Dallas office, Bill Minick doesn’t seem like anyone’s idea of a bomb thrower. But backed by some of the biggest names in corporate America, this mild-mannered son of an evangelist is plotting a revolution in how companies take care of injured workers.
His idea: Let them opt out of state workers’ compensation laws — and write their own rules.
Minick swept his hand past pushpins marking the headquarters of Walmart, McDonald’s and dozens of his other well-known clients, and hailed his plan as not only cheaper for employers, but better for workers too.
“We’re talking about reengineering one of the pillars of social justice that has not seen significant innovation in 100 years,” Minick said.
Minick’s quest sounds implausible, but he’s already scored significant victories.
Many of the nation’s biggest retail, trucking, health care and food companies have already opted out in Texas, where Minick pioneered the concept as a young lawyer. Oklahoma recently passed a law co-written by Minick allowing companies to opt out there. Tennessee and South Carolina are seriously considering similar measures. And with a coalition led by executives from Walmart, Nordstrom and Lowe’s, Minick has launched a campaign to get laws passed in as many as a dozen states within the next decade.
But as Minick’s opt-out movement marches across the country, there has been little scrutiny of what it means for workers.
Full article here: https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-corporate-americas-plan-to-ditch-workers-comp
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