House members score big victory for Mississippi workers

I'm happy to report that it wasn't all poll taxes and medieval torture devices over at the Mississippi legislature this week.  Earlier today, a bi-partisan House coalition managed to beat back a measure that would completely destabilize the workers compensation program in Mississippi.  Here's the release from the House Democratic Caucus:

Jackson, MS - This morning, a bi-partisan coalition was successful in stopping a measure that would have stripped Mississippi workers of many of the protections they currently enjoy under Mississippi's workers' compensation program.  The bill, House Bill 555 sponsored by Rep. Mark Formby (R-Picayune), would remove the presumption that a person found dead on the job was injured at work, take away a worker's right to select their own physician, and remove several of the current presumptions that protect Mississippi workers injured on the job. 

House Democratic Caucus Leader Rep. Bobby Moak (D-Bogue Chitto) said, "This is a tremendous victory for Mississippi workers but our work isn't finished.  Mississippians deserve to be treated with fairness and dignity when the are injured on the job and we are prepared to fight any measure that would threaten our workers."