Labor chief's leadership made RI's workers' comp a success | Opinion

I write in appreciation of the soon to be retired president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, George Nee. In a recent article in this newspaper, longtime reporter Katherine Gregg chronicled the long and storied career of a tireless labor leader and cited his lifelong mission to advance the interests of organized labor and people in general. No article could report the extent to which this man benefited Rhode Island employers and business in general and his dedicated service in helping design and steer our state’s workers' compensation system to its present state of stability.

When Rhode Island was in the midst of a workers’ compensation crisis in the early 1990s, George advocated for organized labor at the General Assembly with regard to many of the proposed changes to the state’s chaotic and costly workers’ compensation system. Such times called for reform and the legislature and Governor Bruce Sundlun, with Sheldon Whitehouse (who at that time was director of the Department of Business Regulation) in the lead, boldly implemented the change necessary to stabilize the Rhode Island system.

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One of the key elements of the reform was the statutory creation of a Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council. Its stated purpose was to “…advise the governor and the general assembly, on an annual basis, on the administration of the workers’ compensation system.” Its defined membership included representatives of labor, business, the courts, and other key workers’ comp stakeholders. One of its original labor members was George Nee. Shortly after he became governor, Lincoln Almond fortuitously chose George to be chair of the Council. He could not have made a better choice.

Since his appointment, and to date, George Nee has been in no small part responsible for Rhode Island’s continued position as a model both nationally and internationally of a well-functioning workers' compensation system. Under his leadership, the Council has continued to meet and substantively assess the health of our state’s workers’ compensation system. Year in and year out, advocates and stakeholders make the Council aware of potential issues. At his direction, the issues are tirelessly studied by the Council and its subcommittees, publicly aired and thereafter only unanimous recommendations for change are made to the General Assembly in the form of legislation. Every branch of government has come to rely upon the expertise of the Council on all things workers’ comp. George’s stated leadership philosophy has been that the system as a whole takes priority and stability the key. Boy, has he succeeded.

George's leadership has been nothing short of an unqualified success. While rates have declined annually, benefits to injured workers have kept pace with inflation and consistently increased. Legislation has been recommended by the Council and passed by the General Assembly to limit employee and employer fraud, merge our system with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Medicare Secondary Payor Act, and the rise of the LLC and LLP as a way of doing business. These are small examples of many of the exquisite amendments to the law that have allowed the system to remain stable to the benefit of the employees and employers of our state.

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In conclusion, George wasn’t just a labor advocate. He was a workers’ comp advocate whose service and leadership directly benefited its primary stakeholders, the employees and employers of our state. Regardless of your stake, every Rhode Islander should be grateful for all George Nee has done to leave us with a healthy and stable workers’ compensation system.

Michael D. Lynch is a retired senior vice president of legal at The Beacon Mutual Insurance Company. He advocated for business and insurance at the General Assembly on workers' comp issues for over 35 years.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Benefits to injured workers have kept pace with inflation and consistently increased thanks to Nee's advocacy.