PA Senate Essentially Trying to Kill Guaranty Fund; Harm Injured Workers
One of the few recent laws passed in Pennsylvania which helped injured workers was the creation of the Uninsured Employers Guaranty Fund (UEGF). This fund was designed to be used in cases where the injured worker was employed by someone who (in direct violation of PA law) failed to carry workers’ compensation insurance coverage. The UEGF was designed to provide medical treatment, and lost wages, to those workers who, under the previous system, would be left with no recourse. This, of course, was a saving grace which embodied the supposed “humanitarian objectives” of Pennsylvania’s Workers’ Compensation Act.
Because the problem of uninsured employers in PA is so prevalent, funds allocated to the UEGF have exhausted at a faster pace than was budgeted. The legislature was then left to decide how best to fix the problem. In an astonishing declaration of indifference to injured workers throughout the State, the Pennsylvania Senate created Senate Bill 1195. Rather than simply replenish the UEGF, and allow injured workers to receive benefits they desperately need, the Senate has elected to simply gut the UEGF to reduce the number of successful claims. This is a truly sad decision being made by those who are supposed to represent us all.
Instead of coming down harder on uninsured employers, and simply reducing claims by reducing the true offenders, the Senate has decided the burden should fall on the injured workers, who are only the innocent victims. First, the worker gets injured, then they get victimized by their employer having no insurance (in violation of Pennsylvania law). It is a double punishment that simply is neither fair nor just.