State officials have touted the so-called Texas “miracle” economy and its boost in oil and gas and construction.
The Texas Tribune investigative series "Hurting For Work" found little protection for workers in those industries because of lax regulation. For instance, the lead author of the series, Jay Root, says Texas is the only state that allows employers to opt out of providing workers’ compensation coverage.
Investigative findings from the Texas Tribune series, "Hurting For Work":
Hurting For Work: A Disposable Workforce
Hurting For Work: No Safety Work
- Texas stands alone in allowing employers to forgo workers’ comp insurance, and over 500,000 workers have no coverage if they are hurt or killed.
- Texas doesn’t regulate private occupational insurance, which often provides fewer due process rights and stingier benefits than workers’ comp.
- More than 90 percent of employers without workers’ comp flout a requirement that they notify the state of their opt-out status.
- A quarter or more of employers without workers’ comp underreport lost-time injuries, recent audits suggest.
- Major court decisions have eroded protections injured workers once had, including the right to sue certain employers who fire them for filing an injury claim.
- Nearly half (45 percent) of all workers’ comp claims were initially denied or disputed in whole or in part from 2008 to 2013.
- Workers are losing far more major disputes with workers' comp insurers, and their margin of defeat has increased.
