Editorial: Senate forges compromise in passing workers' comp fix : Stltoday

Editorial: Senate forges compromise in passing workers' comp fix : Stltoday

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 from the workers’ compensation system. This opened businesses up to much more liability in civil courts.
Toxic exposure includes nasty diseases caused by certain chemical exposure in manufacturing — mesothelioma is the most well-known — that often lead to death. Republicans and Democrats had been unable to agree on a fair level of compensation in such cases.

Mr. Rupp’s bill doubles the surcharge on the Second Injury Fund, raising money to ease the backlog of hundreds of cases in which truly injured workers have not been paid for their legitimate disabilities.
It also creates a special category of toxic exposure cases under the Second Injury Fund that allows significantly more compensation for the relatives of victims who died after inhaling dangerous chemicals at work. At the same time, the bill protects employers from uncapped and more expensive civil court judgments.

Nobody got everything he wanted. But a serious problem confronting businesses, workers and the state treasury was solved by everybody coming to the table and giving a little. What a concept.

Alas, on the same day the Senate was coming together in the spirit of compromise to solve a real problem, across the Capitol rotunda, the Missouri House was up to its usual tilting at imaginary windmills. The House passed a photo voter-identification bill that attempts to solve a nonexistent problem by denying tens of thousands of Missourians their right to vote

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unable to agree means workers die in Missouri.  compromise my behind, another sellout