Workers Compensation Laws with Disability Act Coverage
Generally, if a teacher is analzyed as having a vocal disorder related to their employment as a teacher, the doctor can write a prescription for soundfield amplication and technically, the school district should fund it through the Disability Act as found in the Workers Compensation Laws. However, the tricky part is that occupational voice use safety standards have not yet been established. The National Center for Voice and Speech is working on this with their grant. And since there aren't standards in place yet, it is very hard to show that the teacher's vocal use on the job contributed to or caused their injury. So workman's comp is a sticky situation at best. The only way I could conceive of this working in a teacher's favor is if they had a laryngologist willing to testify that they have a vocal disability, and that it was the doctor's opinion that the workplace use was the direct cause of the disability. There are only a handful of laryngologists in the state of Colorado. All laryngologists are ENTs, but only a very few ENTs are laryngologists.
Colorado (Denver, CO)
Division of Workers' Compensation
(303) 318-8700
Web site including Workers' Compensation Act 2004 at: http://www.coworkforce.com/DWC/
For an overview, go to http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/wc.htm
Let's learn about laws related to Workers Comp.
Civil Rights Act at: http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/civrts.htm
Age Discrimination Act at: http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/agedisc.htm
Fair Labor Standards Act at: http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/flsa.htm
Americans with Disabilities Act at: http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/ada.htm
Minimum Wage Maximum Hours at: http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/mwmh.htm
Federal Insurance Contributions Act at: http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/fica.htm
The Current Tax Payment Act at: http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/ctpa.htm
Federal Unemployment Tax Act at: http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/futa.htm
State Unemployment Tax Acts at: http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/suta.htm
Employee Retirement Income Security Act at: http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/erisa.htm
Individual Retirement Account at: http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/ira.htm
Simplified Employee Pension Plan at: http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/sepp.htm
Immigration Reform and Control Act at: http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/irca.htm
Family and Medical Leave Act at: http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/fmla.htm
Workman's Compensation Laws http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/wc.htm
State Disability Laws at: http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/sdl.htm
Here are several links to state laws and governing regulations.
Disability Laws at: http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/disability.html
The following link is A listing of disability resources done by a man who is a C2 quadriplegic, completely paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a ventilator to breathe. He uses an keyboard/mouse emulator with a sip and puff switch to "type" morse code.
Disability Resources at: http://www.makoa.org/index.html
More Disability Resources at: http://www.disabilities.com/g.php?C=38433&D=150997&domain=disabilities.com&K=disabilities&V=5168
NEXT PAGE at: http://www.madcc.kctcs.edu/tnygaard/act196/fedtax.htm
Workers' compensation began in Germany in the 1800's. A need was seen to care for injured workers so they did not suffer physically or financially from injuries resulting from work. Workmans' comp became common in the US in the 1930's. It continues today in all 50 states and in territories.
Workers' compensation is basically the same in all states. When workers' compensation was first proposed, a compromise was reached between businesses and the worker.
In order to encourage businesses to accept full responsibility for the premium costs of workers'compensation, the workers gave up the right to sue the employer for damages resulting from a job related injury. This "doctrine" continues basically intact to this day.
More than a benefit, workers' compensation is a legally mandated right of the worker. Businesses who meet certain requirements must provide workman's comp for all employees. There are fines for businesses who have not provided coverage as required by law.
Workers' compensation can be purchased from several sources:
Private companies
State Funds
Insurance Pools
Self Insurance Programs
Workers' compensation laws and regulations are made by each state and are regulated by state officials. Workers' compensation by itself loses money for most carriers. Some carriers require businesses to purchase other coverages in addition to workers' compensation before voluntary workers' compensation coverage is offered by the carrier.