The Advisory Council on Workers' Compensation has unanimously voted against a recommendation to the “Tennessee Option,” a bill that would allow private-sector employers to opt out of state-mandated workers’ compensation coverage and create their own policies, according to
The Tennessean.
The divisive bill, introduced in February, would allow organizations “to craft individual, self-funded injury benefit programs” in place of the coverage otherwise required under state law.
Members of the Advisory Council voiced concerns about the measure, and hope to witness the outcome of similar initiatives in Texas and Oklahoma before enacting the law.
Three experts testified to the Council opposing the bill, while one spoke in favor of it.
Opponents worry that employers will choose the more cost-effective option, at the expense of employees and the state coverage that is more beneficial to them.
"They are going to opt on the side of cost savings. That's human nature. I've been on that side; I understand what it means to run a business," Mary Elizabeth Maddox, an attorney with law firm Frantz McConnell & Seymour, told
The Tennessean.
Supporters, in the meantime, are trying to convince senators that a free market option would create competition for state government and will thus produce superior policies for employers and employees alike.
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