Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is sounding the alarm over what he sees as crumbling protections for workers who are injured on the job.

In a letter to Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, Sanders and nine other Democrats complain about the “erosion” of state laws set up to pay workers while they are injured and cannot work.

The federal government often foots the bill for workers who fall through the cracks of state workers’ compensation laws, the lawmakers argue.

Sanders called on the Obama administration to “strengthen the safety net for workers injured on the job" and urged Perez to investigate what he sees as a decline in state workers’ compensation laws.

“This raises serious concerns,” the lawmakers wrote.

“State workers’ compensation laws are no longer providing adequate levels of support and compensation for workers injured on the job,” they added. “Instead, costs are increasingly being shifted to the American taxpayers to foot the bill.”