On the heels of yesterday's impactful Value our Workers! Now rally at the N.C. General Assembly, Rep. Dale Folwell, a Republican representating Forsyth County, introduced a workers' compensation reform bill today in the N.C. House.

The bill is even worse than expected. It strips injured workers of their rights and protections and gives control of North Carolina's workers' comp system to the insurance companies.

The bill, which sponsors are calling “Protect and Put N.C. Back to Work,” is an absolute assault on working people of this state. This bill WILL BECOME LAW unless we ACT NOW to stop it.

My colleague, Joel Davis, has dismantled the 10-page bill point-by-point, showing what impact it will have on injured workers. We'll be posting his analysis tomorrow, but for now, here are the highlights:

Under N.C. House Bill 709, insurance companies want to:

• Force you to see a doctor that the INSURANCE company chooses…and not the BEST doctor YOU want
• Make it virtually impossible for you to change doctors or consult a specialist while on workers’ compensation, even if you’re receiving BAD care
• Take away your benefits if you disagree with the doctor the insurance company hires for you
• Cut off compensation for lost income and medical care after 9 years, even for people so severely injured they will never be able to work again.
• Give insurance companies the right to talk with your doctor and access ALL your medical records without your knowledge or consent, a clear violation of your privacy
• Force injured workers back to work in low-paying jobs that the insurance company deems “suitable”
• Shift the cost of caring for injured workers to the taxpayers

Many of these proposed changes will impact people who already have PENDING WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS, not just those people who are injured in the future.

This bill is just another insurance industry bailout that will end up costing taxpayers and workers – unless we do something about it NOW.

The insurance industry and the N.C. Chamber of Commerce, which represents the interests of big business, are behind this bad bill to reform North Carolina workers’ compensation system. They have the cooperation of the bill’s sponsors – Dale Folwell (R-Forsyth), Nelson Dollar (R-Wake), Mike Hager (R-Cleveland) and James Crawford Jr. (D-Granville).

With the shift in power in the N.C. General Assembly, these groups think they have the votes to ram this legislation through and make it law WITHOUT debate or public input. But we can stop it, if we act now.

It’s time to contact your elected officials in Raleigh and N.C. Gov. Bev. Perdue and tell them to Vote NO on House Bill 709. CALL OR EMAIL THEM TODAY! Call and email the bill’s sponsors and let them know that you DO NOT SUPPORT HOUSE BILL 709.

Contact your legislators and Gov. Bev Perdue today about this bill – even if you’ve already called, emailed or written them. Now that the bill has been introduced, it is important for elected officials to hear from their constituents. Otherwise, they may buy into the rhetoric of the bill’s sponsors and the powerful insurance industry lobby who are pushing hard for it to become law.

Don’t let your lawmakers be hoodwinked into voting for this bill because they believe it’s good for North Carolina’s economy and jobs. House Bill 709 is bad for workers, it’s bad for business and it’s bad for North Carolina.

Voters also need to contact the bill’s sponsors. Tell them you don’t support House Bill 709 and that you won’t vote for anyone who supports it.

To make it easy, we’re providing contact information for the bill’s sponsors here. You can find out who represents you in the N.C. House and N.C. Senate here, and you’ll also find phone numbers, email addresses and mailing addresses.

Sponsors of House Bill 709

Rep. Dale Folwell (R-Forsyth)

Phone: (919) 733-5787 or (336) 748-0046      

Email:  Dale.Folwell@ncleg.net

Address: NC House of Representatives
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 301F
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925  

Rep. Nelson Dollar (R-Wake)

Phone: (919) 715-0795 or (919) 233-8399      

Email: Nelson.Dollar@ncleg.net

Address: NC House of Representatives
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 307B1
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925

Rep. Mike Hager (R-Cleveland)

Phone: (919) 733-5749 or (828) 748-2378

Email: Mike.Hager@ncleg.net

Address: NC House of Representatives
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 306C
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925

Rep. James W. Crawford Jr. (D-Granville)

Phone: (919) 733-5824 or (252) 492-0185

Email: Jim.Crawford@ncleg.net

Address: NC House of Representatives
16 W. Jones Street, Room 1321
Raleigh, NC 27601-1096

For breaking news about House Bill 709, visit Protect NC Workers and the group's Facebook page. We'll also be posting updates on our Facebook page.