Crains New York - June 3, 2013 - (Page 10)

OPINION CRAIN’S Fixing workers’ comp C orruption, campaign finance reform and fracking may be hot topics in Albany, but rank-and-file businesses across the state are more concerned about a less sensational subject: workers’ compensation. While it’s not an issue that propels political careers, New York’s system costs a whopping $6 billion a year. Surveys show only health insurance to be a greater worry for business owners. Workers’ compensation reform happens rarely in New York because powerful vested interests—notably the plaintiff bar—are adept at maintaining what, for them, is a lucrative status quo. Aside from some key changes won by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in this year’s budget, the last significant fix was in the early days of the Spitzer administration. That 2007 change broadened the distribution of money, the vast majority of which had been going to a small fraction of workers injured on the job. But the savings that businesses were projected to realize have been overwhelmed by rising costs that were ignored or even abetted by the Spitzer reform. With three weeks remaining in the 2013 session, there is little hope that legislators will make any more improvements this year. In fact, the business lobby is currently occupied—as it often is—with blocking bills that would make the system worse. The trial lawyers’ lobby knows its best defense is a good offense, so it pushes poisonous bills that consume the business community’s attention and resources. Meanwhile, the Cuomo administration has shifted its CRAIN’S ONLINE POLL NEW YORK BUSINESS editor in chief Rance Crain publisher, vp Jill R. Kaplan efforts to improvements it can make administratively. In fact, it implemented one just last week: The Workers’ Compensation Board, after seven months of intensive advocacy by the Business Council of New York State, declared that injured employees can be assumed to have reached “maximum medical improvement” after two years. Even though the healing process for nearly all injuries rarely exceeds eight months, businesses hailed the new policy as a victory because lawyers had been dragging out cases, allowing their “still healing” clients to milk the system for six years of interim payments before starting the 10-year compensation clock established by the 2007 reform. But many similar quirks remain unaddressed, notably the outdated schedules that dictate how long workers are paid for a given injury. Thanks to advances in medical care, ailments that once persisted for months or years are now fixed in a fraction of that time—yet the gravy train of yesteryear rolls on. That should be addressed this year by Mr. Cuomo, and next year he must press the Assembly again for reforms it denied him in March. The quest for a fair and rational workers’ compensation system continues. The quest to reform an arcane and outdated system COMMENTS bloomberg news More bucks from trucks DOUBLE-PARKED, DOUBLE TROUBLE HAS THE NYPD GONE OVERBOARD WITH ITS STATUE OF LIBERTY SECURITY CONCERNS? Yes. The Battery Park waits are too long, and screening people as they disembark onto Ellis Island is fine. No. Ray Kelly knows how to keep the city safe. Passengers should be screened before getting on any park-bound boat. Date of poll: May 28 145 votes 14% 86% FOR THIS WEEK’S QUESTIONS: Go to www.crainsnewyork.com/poll to have your say. 10 | Crain’s New York Business | June 3, 2013 You quote a lot of companies complaining about their city fines for double-parking, saying the fines waste money and inhibit their ability to do business (“All in the cost of doing business,” May 27). How about the millions of hours of other people’s time wasted because we’re stuck in traffic because of doubleparked trucks? How about the property damaged and lives lost because fire trucks, rescue crews and ambulances also aren’t immune to traffic delays? It’s one thing to doublepark on a side street away from an intersection, but doubleparking on avenues creates huge traffic jams. Perhaps if the city provided an incentive for these trucks to pull around the corner onto streets instead of avenues, it would at least help to reduce traffic congestion. Bigger fines for trucks that remain double-parked when there are actually parking spaces available would be a nice idea, too. —shaun breidbart Pelham, N.Y. THE UNIONS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING Re Greg David’s May 27 column, “Next mayor’s issue: building-cost gap”: The status quo in the development of affordable housing is unacceptable. For too long, there have been widespread problems with the quality of the affordable housing being built, misspent tax subsidies to favored developers, and millions of dollars taken from the pockets of the workers who build affordable homes they can’t even afford to live in. Instead of seeking solutions, the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development and its handpicked developers have said no to new initiatives, including the use of project labor agreements to build with union workers. A market that prioritizes building the highest number of units over quality construction produces a large number of poorquality units. According to HPD, at least 11% of the affordable, for-sale apartments on 135 separate projects have construction problems. The city’s building trades have developed a cost-competitive program for affordable-housing construction that will save at least 20% on labor costs alone. With a PLA for HPD work, the city could diversify its contractors, bring competition to this market, improve the quality of construction for those residents who buy HPD units and protect the workers who build the housing. Why the city won’t consider viable and tested solutions for reform—such as PLAs— remains an unsolved mystery. —robert bonanza Business manager Mason Tenders District Council of Greater NY and Long Island CRAIN’S WELCOMES SUBMISSIONS to its opinion pages. Send letters to letters@crainsnewyork.com. Send columns of 475 words or fewer to opinion@crainsnewyork.com. Please include the writer’s name, company, address and telephone number. 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All rights reserved. ®CityBusiness is a registered trademark of MCP Inc., used under license agreement. CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS chairman Keith E. Crain president Rance Crain treasurer Mary Kay Crain Cindi Crain executive vp, operations William Morrow senior vp, group publisher Gloria Scoby vp/production, manufacturing David Kamis chief information officer Paul Dalpiaz founder G.D. Crain Jr. (1885-1973) chairman Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. (1911-1996) secretary Merrilee Crain (1942-2012) http://www.crainsnewyork.com/subscribe http://www.crainsnewyork.com/advertise http://www.crainsnewyork.com/events http://www.crainsnewyork.com/poll

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - June 3, 2013

Crains New York - June 3, 2013
IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
REAL ESTATE DEALS
OPINION
GREG DAVID
FOR THE RECORD
TOP ENTREPRENEURS
CLASSIFIEDS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE COFFEE
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - June 3, 2013