MAINE PLANS REVAMP OF WC BOARD:

Flanked by the presidents of the Maine AFL-CIO and Maine State Chamber of Commerce, Gov. John E. Baldacci unveiled legislation to restructure the Maine Workers’ Compensation Board. The goal of the restructuring is to end the gridlock that has stymied the board’s ability to carry out its statutory responsibilities. “Both sides—labor and management—agree that the time has come to restructure the board. What began as deadlock on policy issues has increasingly paralyzed the day-to-day administration of the board. The time has come to end the impasse by restructuring the board,” Baldacci stated. Baldacci said it is the first major change in the structure since comprehensive reforms of the state’s injured workers’ system were enacted in 1992. The bill leaves the board’s decision-making to employees and employers. It also maintains the independent structure of the board apart from any other state department and preserves the heavy involvement of both labor and management in the board composition. But it reduces the board to seven members. Six of the seven members will continue to be equally divided between labor representatives and management representatives, selected in the same manner as under current law. The seventh member of the board will be the executive director of the Workers’ Compensation Board, who will serve as the chair and as the chief executive officer of the agency the board oversees. The administration worked with the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and the Maine AFL-CIO to develop its proposal. The result, LD 1909, has received the support of both organizations. “It’s about time to see the comp board move off the dime,” said Ed Gorham, president of the Maine AFL-CIO, in support of the legislation. “The stakes are too high for any of us to accept the status quo gridlock any longer,” said Dana Connors, president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. “We believe this legislation is a reasonable alternative and deserves the legislature’s support.”