Every once in awhile, people in Louisville will hear another person question the worthiness of workers' compensation programs. People sometimes criticize these programs for being outmoded and say they were more applicable to an earlier era when jobs were more dangerous and people got hurt more often.

But the fact is, we definitely still need workers' compensation. Workers' compensation benefits can be an absolute lifeline for people who are injured on the job and need time to recover. And the fact is, programs that are meant to prevent injuries on the workplace are always a good idea, but they are not as effective as you may think.

Take, for example, the Injury and Illness Prevention Program in California. (California is not Kentucky, of course, but it is worth looking at because California is such a populous state, so all of its employee-related programs are very big). A recent report from the California Commission for Health, Safety and Workers' Compensation found that the program has very little effect on cutting down on on-the-job injuries and deaths.

Please do not take that to mean we should eliminate these programs. Anything we can do to spare even one person from injury is good. Instead, look at that report as continued justification for the existence of workers' compensation benefits. Of course we should do all we can to prevent injuries in the first place, but even if we do that, accidents are bound to happen and we need to make sure our fellow workers are taken care of.

Source: Business Insurance, "Calif. prevention program has little effect on worker injuries, fatalities: Report," Sheena Harrison, Jan. 16, 2012