An investment in manpower and technology is paying big dividends at the state Department of Labor and Training.
In the wake of the tragic fire that claimed 100 lives at The Station nightclub in West Warwick in February 2003, the fraud and compliance units of the labor department were merged. That move has resulted in greater enforcement efforts – in large part because there are now seven investigators working to detect and combat fraud in workers’ compensation.
Technology has also played a significant role. The DLT unit now gets immediate, electronic notification of changes in insurance information, such as changes in policies, cancellations and non-renewals.
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The results of these efforts have been astonishing.
In 2003, the DLT’s Workers’ Compensation Fraud Prevention and Compliance Unit collected $286,876 in penalties, up from $87,514 the previous year and $44,440 in 2000. As of July 22, $185,000 had been collected, putting the unit on pace to collect 15 percent more in penalties this year than in 2003.
A decade ago, the state’s workers’ compensation system was badly broken. Serious legislative reforms took years to enact. But they have worked.
The system that exists today is not perfect, but it is a far better one than Rhode Island has seen in decades.
We must remember that no system works in and of itself. Rules that have been set in place must be enforced. And penalties must be administered if those rules are to be taken seriously.
The state DLT should be commended for holding up its end of the equation.
The tragedy of The Station nightclub fire taught all of us many lessons. One of them being that a minority of employers will always look to shortcut the system if it means saving even a few dollars. Such businesses must not go unchecked. Operating in such a way is not fair to their own employees or the vast majority of honest employers who must compete with them. All employers deserve to operate within a system that operates as equitably as possible.
We see this collaboration on the part of the fraud and compliance units at the DLT as a possible model for other state departments. In this instance, the DLT appears to be using its employees and other resources wisely.
Too often we assume that state government is not working as efficiently as it could. Here we have an example of the very opposite – an agency getting better, operating more efficiently year after year.
We would hope that other state agencies learn from the DLT’s efforts in this regard.
The DLT should serve as a reminder to all of us that sometimes it makes sense – fiscal sense – to invest more in a state agency, because like any other business, such an investment may provide a solid return.
