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“Carve‐outs” from the workers' compensation system
Author(s) -
Levine David I.,
Neuhauser Frank,
Petersen Jeffrey S.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of policy analysis and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.898
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1520-6688
pISSN - 0276-8739
DOI - 10.1002/pam.10055
Subject(s) - harm , dispute resolution , compensation (psychology) , workers' compensation , business , voucher , public administration , public economics , economics , political science , law , accounting , psychoanalysis , psychology
Decentralized regulation has become increasingly important in many areas; examples range from schoolvouchers to workplace safety committees to alternative dispute resolution procedures replacing courts.Consistent with this trend, in 1993 California permitted construction unions and employers to “carveout” their own workers' compensation system. This study examines California's early experiencewith carve‐outs by analyzing two case studies, a survey of all carve‐outs in existence during thestudy period, and preliminary data on costs and dispute frequency at one carve‐out. Overall,carve‐outs do not appear to harm employees, and sometimes they help. At the same time, data analysis ofone carve‐out showed it had no effect on costs and dispute rates. Moreover, the low involvement of unionofficials and the many issues that overlap other parts of workplace regulation raise concerns aboutdecentralizing workers' compensation. Lessons can be learned for other spheres of regulation. © 2002by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.