Workers’ compensation laws are the most difficult government regulation to deal with, but also the most beneficial to employees, small business owners said in response to a survey by the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations.
NAPEO surveyed 429 small businesses around the country and asked 16 questions about labor laws and other employment issues.
Thirty-eight percent of respondents named workers’ compensation as the most difficult of 13 employment regulations they had to deal with. But 47% also said workers’ compensation is the most beneficial government regulation for workers.
“Without the system, employees and their employers would have to roll the dice in the legal system, a slow, cumbersome and sometimes unfair process,” NAPEO said. “Instead the presumption under the workers’ comp system is that workers injured on the job have an absolute right to medical care and compensation, and if there’s a dispute it’s first heard informally by the state workers’ comp agency.”
After workers’ compensation, the small businesses found federal employment and income taxes (28%), the Family Medical Leave Act (26%) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) (26%) the most onerous regulations.
Behind workers’ compensation, the small businesses found the Family Medical Leave Act (42%), HIPPA (32%) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (29%)as most beneficial to their workers.
The small businesses said the least beneficial regulations for workers are the Immigration Reform and Control Act (35%), involuntary wage garnishments (32%) and the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (31%).