N.D. Bill Would Form Legislative Comp Appeals Panel

A new panel of North Dakota legislators would review workers’ compensation cases and have the power to suggest changes in policy or laws governing the government agency overseeing them, Workforce Safety and Insurance.

According to the Associated Press, the proposed board has the support of the legislature’s Republican leadership and would hear testimony from workers unhappy with WSI’s resolution of their claims. The panel’s case reviews would happen only after all legal appeals have been exhausted or abandoned.

The board, as laid out in House Bill 1523, would be composed of six members, four Republicans and two Democrats, and would meet in between legislative sessions. An earlier proposal was to add three legislators to WSI’s 11-voting member panel, where employer representatives are in the majority.

WSI CEO Sandy Blunt said the agency has handled an average of almost 20,000 claims annually for the last five years and votes for benefits in 96 percent of cases.