Editorial Roundup: Indiana

Indianapolis Business Journal. October 14, 2022.

Editorial: State's occupational health agency must protect Indiana workers

During the initial months of the COVID-19 crisis, when those with office jobs started working from home, thousands of Hoosiers deemed essential kept going to work-in hospitals, nursing homes, manufacturing plants, grocery stores and more.

In some cases, their employers did everything they could to minimize workers' risks of contracting the virus. In other cases, they did not.

The agency that is supposed to look out for workers in the latter case is the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration. An investigation released this week by The Indianapolis Star raises serious questions not just about whether the agency - known as IOSHA - did that job, but also whether it was even equipped to try.

The agency has received more than 6,000 COVID-related complaints since 2020, IndyStar reports. But it conducted inspections on fewer than 50 - less than 1%, which IndyStar reports is at the bottom of all states.

In fact, even while a COVID outbreak at a Tyson meat-packing plant infected nearly 1,200 workers, IOSHA never sent an inspector, IndyStar reported.

And it turns out, IOSHA rarely sent out inspectors at all during the height of the pandemic. The agency, in written responses to IndyStar, said the pause in in-person inspections 'œreduced COVID-19 exposure for both our compliance officers and the workplaces subject to the inspections, while still providing safe and responsible regulatory action.'ť

And agency officials also told IndyStar that IOSHA contacted employers named in every complaint and required them to show they were following U.S. Centers for Disease Control and federal worker-safety guidelines.

IBJ has not independently verified IndyStar's reporting. It has not talked to the more than 100 people the IndyStar reporters interviewed for the story nor reviewed the thousands of pages of public records, complaints and responses from Indiana and other states that reporters Binghui Huang and Kristine Phillips read.

But we've certainly seen enough in their reporting to know that Gov. Eric Holcomb and the Indiana Legislature must act. That might mean conducting an internal state investigation into the agency's actions. It might mean overhauling its leadership or its vision. It almost certainly means increasing its funding so it can hire more inspectors (IndyStar reports the agency has half the number it did in 1986). It probably means doing all of those things.

At a time when competing with other states is as much about being able to supply workers as it is about tax incentives, Indiana can't afford to be lax when it comes to protecting employees. The state's goal should be to attract more people to live here, not give them reasons to leave. And failing to act when workers complain that their employers aren't keeping them safe is not rolling out the welcome mat.

Kudos to The Star for putting in the time and resources needed to tell this important story. Now it's time for Indiana's elected officials to act.

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Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. October 13, 2022.

Editorial: Will worker's compensation rate cut benefit Hoosier workers?

Oregon's Department of Consumer and Business Services has examined workers' compensation rates by state every two years since 1986, and Indiana's rates have consistently ranked among the nation's lowest.

Indiana was 49th among all states and the District of Columbia in the amount charged to businesses to cover medical costs associated with workplace injuries, according to the latest Oregon Workers' Compensation Premium Rate Ranking report for 2020.

The Hoosier State likely won't move up in the rankings in 2024. Last week, Indiana Department of Insurance Commissioner Amy Beard approved an average decrease of 10.3% for workers' comp rates. The rate cut, recommended by the Indiana Compensation Rating Bureau, a private association of insurance companies licensed to write workers comp insurance in the state, will take effect January 1, 2023.

'œThe 10.3% decrease represents a savings to Indiana businesses of approximately $80 million,'ť Beard said in a statement Oct. 4. 'œWe are pleased to approve a rate decrease that helps support Indiana businesses and Indiana workers.'ť

Work is safer in the U.S. than it was before 1970, when Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to ensure safer working conditions by setting and enforcing safety standards. But the issue for workers is who is liable for an injury if a person is harmed on the job.

Companies will often try to shift blame to the employee for a work-related injury, Marquita Walker, interim chair and associate professor of labor studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, told The Journal Gazette.

'œCorporations are in business to make a profit, nothing else,'ť she said. 'œSo when you look at things through that lens, you can see why the shift toward liability always, always, is going to go to worker error. The worker did something to cause him or her to be harmed, and consequently the corporation is not liable for that, and that saves them money.

'œI suspect that's exactly what this decrease in workers comp is right now.'ť

The state Department of Insurance attributes the rate cut to the long-term decline in workers' compensation claims nationwide, and the lower average costs per claim in Indiana for indemnity and medical benefits.

Workers are indeed safer now than they used to be, Walker said, but they're not as safe as they could be.

'œWe see the most injuries in construction, manufacturing, the building trades; it's just pervasive every place,'ť Walker said. 'œAll of the rules and policies are so slanted toward corporations, and they try to distance themselves to many liability issues because that costs some money.'ť

It's the job of state government to balance what it believes will incentivize workers and employers to stay in Indiana. State officials must ask themselves, will Indiana lose workers if we do this, or will we gain employers if we do that?

The Indiana Compensation Rating Bureau apparently has determined the Hoosier State will not lose workers as a result of the rate cut. There will be industries, such as manufacturing and construction, where the average decrease in insurance rates could be lower, and others, like the financial industry, where a cut could be more than 10.3%.

Indiana businesses will see a benefit to their bottom lines beginning in 2023. But we'll have to wait to learn whether Hoosier workers will find it easier or harder to receive worker's compensation after an on-the-job injury.

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Terre Haute Tribune-Star. October 16, 2022.

Editorial: Candidates should be willing to debate

There are a variety of ways Hoosier voters can glean information about candidates in elections. But it gets more difficult the higher up the political chain one gets, especially when candidates refuse to debate or appear in public forums.

Voters can easily obtain good insight into candidates for local elections because of their proximity to them. If voters don't know the candidates personally, they probably know people who do. Their local media may be covering the elections as well and offering stories about contested races and biographies of the candidates. Local organizations often sponsor forums or 'œmeet the candidates'ť events.

Regional or statewide elections can be challenging, however. Those races don't often draw intense media attention.

That doesn't mean the races are inconsequential. Indiana in the past has seen down-ballot statewide races become hotly contested and carry widespread ramifications. Races for state superintendent of public instruction were among those until the legislature made it an appointed position rather than an elective office.

In the 2022 general election, secretary of state races across the country are the focus of increased attention. The chaotic 2020 election taught Americans a number of lessons about the fragility of the electoral process, including just how crucial it is to have a competent person of high integrity as secretary of state because those offices are in charge of administering elections.

In order to shine a spotlight on Indiana's contested secretary of state race this year, the Indiana League of Women Voters sponsored a statewide televised debate on Monday. Adding importance and interest to the event was the fact there is no incumbent in the race. Despite the League's best efforts, the debate did not carry the impact it could have because Republican candidate Diego Morales refused to be part of it. He gave no good reason for skipping the event. But the debate went on without him, with Democrat Destiny Wells and Libertarian Jeffrey Maurer participating.

Unfortunately, candidates in key races across the state have also shrugged off opportunities to appear in debates or candidate forums. In most cases, the candidates have been Republican incumbents. Even GOP congressional candidates such as U.S. Rep. Jim Banks in northeast Indiana, Rep. Larry Bucshon in southwest Indiana and Rep. Greg Pence in central Indiana have avoided appearing with their opponents.

It's also not uncommon for incumbent candidates for state legislative races to refuse to participate in debates and forums where the public can learn more about them, their voting records and their views on issues.

There are notable exceptions to this trend. Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Todd Young agreed to a live debate with his opponents - Democrat Tom McDermott and Libertarian James Sceniac - on Sunday.

We hope more Republican candidates in the future will follow Young's lead. When candidates refuse to stand next to their opponents and debate issues in a public forum, voters should question whether those candidates are worthy of their support.

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