Employment Issues

Indiana Manufacturers Association

2024 Legislative Priorities

EMPLOYMENT ISSUES

To compete and succeed globally, manufacturers in Indiana require a high-quality, highly skilled workforce. The Indiana Manufacturers Association is a leader in the push for legislative solutions and continues to partner with educational partners, state groups, and manufacturers to ensure that the next generation of life-changing technologies is manufactured here in the heartland.

Worker’s Compensation – Maintain caps of 200% of Medicare on Medical Reimbursement.

With the passage of House Enrolled Act 1153 during the 2022 Legislative Session, 200% caps apply now to care provided at hospitals and at ambulatory surgical centers (ASC’s). This legislation will also increase benefit levels for claimants in each of the next 3 years. The Indiana General Assembly should allow for more time to measure the impact of the benefit increases and new cap on ASC’s on the worker’s compensation system in Indiana and refrain from any changes during the 2024 Session. If any future policy changes are to be made by the General Assembly, careful attention should be given to the fact that new studies demonstrate that the vertical integration of medical providers in Indiana has led to higher medical payments per claim and longer duration of claims. Any increase in disability or salary indemnification benefit levels without measures in place to control medical costs within the workers compensation system will be opposed by the IMA.

Unemployment Insurance – Maintain Existing Statutory Scheme and Oppose Modification.

Gig economy workers and self-employed individuals should not be eligible for unemployment benefits in Indiana. Gig economy workers and self-employed individuals were granted temporary unemployment insurance benefits during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic by the federal government. It should be only for those individuals with substantial attachment to the workforce who are unemployed through no fault of their own, and employers must be able to verify employment and wages in a reliable manner. The objective of the Indiana General Assembly should be to maintain a healthy Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund to insure Indiana’s employers and employees against future economic downturn and not to incentivize employee departure , or partial separation, from the workforce. There are options currently available to employers to manage payroll costs during periods of economic downturn, such that the institution of a worksharing unemployment insurance program in Indiana is unnecessary

Workforce Development - Maintain Investment in Workforce Development Programming Directed to the Manufacturing Industry and Address Growing Child Care Needs. The biennial state budget enacted by the Indiana General Assembly during the 2023 Legislative Session contains historic levels of investment in state-sponsored workforce development programs. Programs that: (1) allow traditional K-12 students to explore manufacturing careers at early stages, (2) provide manufacturing firms with financial resources to train their existing workforce for career advancement and jobs of the future, and (3) attract adult learners who have departed from the workforce back to the manufacturing industry were all included in the 2023/24 State Budget legislation. Also included in the budget were incentives for employers to engage in the practice of providing child care benefits to employees. The General Assembly should continue to focus on directing resources to employers to this end. Legislation that is designed to increase access to affordable child care in Indiana will be supported by the IMA.