If your teenager gets a job while going to school, or for summer vacation, and is killed on the job, $5,500 is the benefit in Ohio. That amount does not even pay for a decent funeral. In fact that is the benefit for any employee killed on the job who is not survived by a spouse or minor children.
What is the problem and why is this wrong?
From a policy standpoint it cheapens life. If an employee is doing a dangerous job, the financial incentive for the employer to make the job safe is measured by the cost of a life. For a state fund employer, the benefit is paid by the state Workers’ Compensation insurance fund, and the payment would hardly affect the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance rate.
It does not encourage safety on the job. I once listened to a radio story about a company in North Carolina which employed young single men to fly airplanes towing banners. The job was dangerous with many fatalities. It was cheaper to kill them, than to make the job safe.
We hear a steady drumbeat how the Workers’ Compensation system is being gamed and defrauded. Keeping death compensation low is a quiet way of gaming the system. Remember “Coingate” with a $50,000,000 loss to the fund by politically connected individuals using the money to enhance their lifestyle and to contribute to Republican politicians.