GOAL 6 – REFORM WORKERS’ COMPENSATION PROGRAMS.
Workers who are injured or made ill because of conditions at work face barriers to health
care access and receive inadequate benefits under separate state workers’ compensation
healthcare systems. Prevention and treatmen of work-related health conditions should be
an integral component of comprehensive healthcare system reform.

Congress should convene a national commission to review the adequacy of current programs, including state and federal workers’ compensation systems, to care for and compensate injured and ill workers. A variety of serious problems should be addressed, including:

• Unequal or absent workers’ compensation protections for agricultural workers, domestic
  workers and day laborers.
• Unequal wage loss reimbursement where some
  workers are not eligible for lost wages until
  they miss more than 7 days of work due to their
  injuries.
• Retaliation against workers who report or seek
  treatment for injuries or illnesses.
• Inadequate funding for medical treatment and
  compensation for rescue and recovery workers
  at the World Trade Center and other disaster
  scenes.