Both sides of the labor market are keeping their eyes on a controversial push to up the payments made to workers who get sick or injured on the job.

Both business and labor leaders are tracking a bill that would make key changes in the Nebraska Workmen's Compensation Law.

According to Lincoln State Senator Adam Morfeld, the changes are long overdue, as workers who are forced off the job don’t receive anywhere near the money promised them.

Morfeld:  "While the system is designed to provide injured and fallen workers with two-thirds of their lost wages the reality is that most workers are surviving on much less than this. Legal fees, lost overtime, inflation and other unexpected benefits are expenses that reduce the ultimate value of weekly benefits to something much less. In Iowa most maximum weekly benefits are capped at $2,005 per week in Nebraska they stand at $983."

Dallas Jones (Opposes Morfeld Bill): Senator Morfeld's bill is a proposal to force taxpayers  and employers in Lancaster County as well as the rest of the state to  pay the  largest increase in the 100 year history of the Workmen's Compensation Act, period."
 

According to state records, the change in Workmen's Compensation would cost the state $1.5 million over the next two years.

Morfeld’s bill is in committee and its not clear if it will make it to the floor this year.