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Protecting Workers' Compensation

For almost 100 years Pennsylvania workers have been protected from the economic consequences of being injured or getting sick on the job by workers' compensation insurance.

The legal requirement that Pennsylvania employers carry worker's compensation insurance is part of Pennsylvania's commitment to the idea that a work-related accident or illness should not condemn any worker to joblessness or a life of poverty.

Every Pennsylvania employer has a moral and legal obligation to:

Provide a safe place to work, including making sure there are enough properly trained employees to do a job

Provide safe tools and equipment

Warn employees of inherent dangers at work

Make and enforce rules for the safety of all employees

Labor unions have worked with employers to create and maintain safe workplaces and to hold employers responsible to their obligations under the law.

Efforts to Undermine Workers' Compensation

Unfortunately, some Pennsylvania employers have sought to evade their obligations by ignoring them completely or by seeking to water-down safety and worker compensation insurance legislation and regulations.

The political efforts of some employers and insurance companies have resulted in a worker's compensation system that often makes it difficult for workers to receive benefits , provides inadequate benefits, and that is heavily biased in favor employers and insurance companies.

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