Race tied to reduction of workers' compensation benefits
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A man from El Cajon, California is claiming that he lost half of his benefits from workers' compensation due to his race.
The workers' compensation plan of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger contains language that is somewhat vague, which has allowed medical examiners to use age, race, and sex when determining how much should be paid by a company in a claim for workers' compensation.
Milton Jones has a breathing machine as his lifeline. He says that, on average, he stops breathing approximately 67 times per night.
Jones was injured while working as a cook at Costco Wholesale in La Mesa, California. As part of his job, he had to clean large ovens with an industrial grease remover.
Jones said he was trained to use a whole bottle of the grease remover/oven cleaner every night. He said the steam generated by the heat of the ovens and the grease remover would get in his eyes and face and he would inhale it. He said this caused him to start suffering from asthma ,sleep apnea, and hypertension.
While seeking workers' compensation, Jones' payments were cut in half by a medical examiner. He said that he was told that being African-American, he had a genetic predisposition to high blood pressure or hypertension. Experts say that his case isn't unique.
According to Lorena Gonzalez of the San Diego-Imperial County Labor Council, gender and age are being used as factors to cut back on benefits.
Jones' medical bills and loss of benefits have caused him to become homeless. He said he would do everything in his power to keep this from happening to anyone else.
Jones was awarded $17,000 by a judge for the permanent disabilities his injuries caused him and a bill banning race, gender, and age discrimination for workers' compensation case will go to the U.S. Senate within the coming months.
The California legislature is considering legislation which will take race and gender factors from being considered in workers' compensation claim determinations.