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First Piece of Workers’ Comp Reform Package Clears Senate, Heads to Governor
Shortly before 8 P.M. Monday, the Senate voted on HB 456 by Rep. Emily Chenevert (R-Baton Rouge), part of an historic workers’ compensation reform package that would restore balance within Louisiana’s WC system. The upper chamber sent the bill to the governor’s desk by a 20-17 vote.
The measure reestablishes equal access to Office of Workers’ Compensation courts for both employees and employers, taking an important step toward restoring balance in Louisiana’s OWC litigation process.
Major credit goes to Rep. Chenevert for authoring and advancing the bill, and to Sen. Alan Seabaugh (R-Many) for forcefully dismantling several trial lawyer talking points during Monday’s debate, helping to keep the focus on restoring balance and fairness in the system.
“This is a good bill,” Sen. Sebaugh said as he closed on the bill. “It’s a good bill for the injured workers, it’s a good bill for the employers. It’s probably not a good bill for the trial lawyers, but I’ve never tried to represent trial lawyers. I’m not up here for the trial lawyers.”
Under current law, employees may file disputes over any workers’ compensation issue, while employers are largely limited to fraud claims and restricted from conducting discovery without active litigation, placing businesses in the difficult position of either paying questionable claims with limited information or denying benefits and risking steep penalties and attorney fees.
HB 456 corrects this imbalance by giving employers the same ability as employees to file disputes and seek judicial review—while continuing to pay benefits. This commonsense reform promotes fairness, transparency, and better-informed decision-making for all parties.
LABI supports this bill as part of broader efforts to promote a more balanced, transparent, and functional workers’ compensation system. The other piece of legislation, SB 408 by Sen. Brach Myers (R-Lafayette) is waiting to be heard on the House Floor.