Today’s post was shared by Jon L Gelman and comes from baltimore.cbslocal.com.
NOTE: In Washington State’s workers’ compensation system, any injured worker receives time loss compensation benefits until they recover medically to the point that they are again able to return to “reasonably continuous, gainful employment,” regardless of projected retirement age. There is no provision for long-term lost earning capacity and the monetary benefits paid for permanent impairment are quite limited. kc
 SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Should injured pro athletes be allowed to earn worker compensation benefits until they are 67 years old, like other workers, even if their athletic careers normally would have ended more than 30 years earlier? That issue is being debated between the Chicago Bears and the NFL Players Association in the Illinois Legislature as one unlikely element of a compromise proposal to end a nearly two-year-long fight over the state’s budget. The Bears are leading other Chicago sports franchises in backing a measure that would reduce a former player’s ability to tap into workers compensation after a career-ending injury. They want to cap certain payments to athletes at no older than 35 or five years after their injury. Currently they can claim benefits up to age 67, like other workers. Neither the teams nor players’ advocates will say how much money is at stake. They agree it is not a relatively big pot — while theoretically some could claim millions, most if not all athletes settle their claims for reduced sums up front, the players association says. Only a handful of pro players filed for the benefit here in the past four years, although the association would not identify them or describe their individual cases. But one… |
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
