Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system developed by the government in response to serious societal problems that occurred with the significant rise in the number of workers injured in industrial settings. The idea of compensating workers for work-related injuries and that government should ensure such compensation spread to America from Europe during the first decade of the 20th century. The courts at that time generally held that mandatory, government-administered workers’ compensation programs denied employers property rights without DUE PROCESS of law. To ease objections, most states made laws that allowed employers to choose whether or not to participate in the program. In 1911 Wisconsin became the first state to enact a workers’ compensation law that would stand in court. In 1917 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could legally require employers to provide compensation to injured workers. As a result, many states revised their laws to include mandatory workers’ compensation. Although each state has its own workers’ compensation laws, there are three major components to general compensation law.
• medical expenses: the cost for hospitals, doctors, medical treatment, etc.
• disability pay: temporary coverage while workers recover from injuries, or permanent coverage in the event workers do not fully recover; the amount varies but can be as high as one-half to two-thirds of normal pay
• vocational rehabilitation: physical therapy to assist in recovery and/or retraining for a new occupation
Since workers’ compensation imposes strict liability without inquiry into fault, an employer could be penalized when its conduct is found to be an egregious violation of federal or state safety standards.