Among other things, a recent study of low-wage workers in major metropolitan areas uncovered the following:
Of respondents who experienced a serious injury on the job, only 8 percent filed a workers’ compensation claim. When workers did tell their employer about the injury, 50 percent experienced an illegal employer reaction—including firing the worker, calling immigration authorities, or instructing the worker not to file for workers’ compensation.
There are a couple interesting things to note. My first observation: this study suggests an answer to a common question – “how could an employer be stupid enough to retaliate against me for filing a workers’ comp claim?” If retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim (actual or perceived) can prevent 96 percent of serious injury comp claims, then instilling fear in injured workers may well enhance an employer’s bottom line. That’s a scary thought.
My second observation: vigorous enforcement of workers’ compensation retaliation claims among low-wage earners is VERY important. I don’t have any data to back up my hypothesis, but I’d be willing to bet that serious work-related injuries are most common among low-wage earners (manual labor, repetitive work, factories, farms, etc.). If 96% of injured workers are not filing claims, then the workers’ compensation system is broken.
Finally, I have some questions about this study. I would love to know more about method and details of this study. I would enjoy seeing how the respondents were selected and how the survey questions were drafted. Like any report of survey results, I would encourage readers to think critically about what these numbers really mean.
