Ohio court destroys workers' rights

It's widely known that the Republican leadership of the Ohio legislature elevated fascism to new heights, but it got plumb ridiculous in 2005 when they passed a law to limit lawsuits by workers injured on the job.

This law was passed out of sheer meanness.

No real legal theory would consider the law constitutional - even under the Ohio Constitution. This law also robbed many workers of compensation to which they were rightly entitled.

Outrageously, the GOP-dominated Ohio Supreme Court has now upheld this law.

Why is this so bad? Because the law actually forces injured employees to prove that their employer acted deliberately. It lets workplaces off the hook for careless behavior - which turns centuries of workplace law on its ear.

The high court said the law is constitutional because the Ohio Constitution lets lawmakers make laws that provide for "the comfort, health, safety and general welfare of all employees." This law wasn't for employees though. It was for the comfort of employers, not employees. It also violates the constitutional guarantee of the right to a jury trial.

They really are trying to make sure Ohio joins Virginia on the list of states with no rights for workers, huh?

(Source: http://www.kypost.com/content/wcposhared/story/Ohio-Court-Upholds-Limits-On-Injured-Worker-Suits/TeivaFlOyUC-ZDVkEUlHGg.cspx)