One thing I have learned through my years of dedicating my practice to representing injured workers is the fact we have a strong labor work ethic in Pennsylvania. I see it everyday.
The misnomer out there is that injured workers want to just sit on workers compensation benefits. That is just not accurate. Many injured workers that I represent want to get back to work quickly, even before they are healed. Many are losing precious dollars each week, many are long time employees of companies they enjoy working for, and others feel worthless just sitting at home, while they heal from their work injuries. These are not people trying to live off a benefit they deserve. These folks do not go to work asking to be injured.
Robust Economy in Central Pennsylvania
In Central Pennsylvania, we have a robust economy. Cumberland County is expected to become the fastest growing county in the Commonwealth. From a strong housing market, to a positive tax environment, to a robust work ethic, the Carlisle, Mechanicsburg, Silver Spring Township, Hampden Township areas, and even south to Shippensburg, are bustling with economic development. Even across the county border to Franklin County, just look at the growth in Chambersburg. Distribution Centers and manufacturing are popping up all along Interstate 81 corridor. Shippensburg is set to see more growth off Interstate 81, Exit 24. One thing these companies have cited is a strong work ethic. That is something to be proud of. Companies do not locate to areas where they do not believe they can gain a strong work force.
So on this Labor Day, we should take pride in our communities that we live in and be thankful we are seeing growth and advancement, not decay and depreciation. Pennsylvania is not a growing state, population wise, but the area we live in, well, the story is quite different. Take pride in our communities and who we are as Central Pennsylvanians. We work well, we work hard, and we produce.
Treating injured employees with respect
Hopefully, as we continue to see companies locate into Cumberland, Franklin, and Adams counties, we will see companies become good stewards. Part of that is treating employees with respect and taking care of them when they are hurt. Work injuries happen. It is a fact. Many people get hurt working around the home. But, at work, there is heavy lifting, there are fork lift accidents, there is such a thing as repetitive stress and trauma, there are slip and falls, there are certified nursing assistant who get injured helping patients, and there are auto accidents. The key is how we respond to such injuries. Companies need to do a better job at restructuring or revising processes to avoid work injuries. They need to constantly evaluate work injuries and make changes to head off injuries before they occur. They need to put employee safety as a core company value. Without employees, companies do not exist. Without a healthy work force, profits dwindle. It’s called good stewardship and it needs to become a core principle. Companies need to stop with the suspicions, stop the blaming, and stop putting up impediments to treatment for injuries, and instead, focus on getting injured workers well and compensating them fairly for life altering injuries. (more…)
