An Oklahoma law that lets employers opt out of state-regulated workers' compensation has been rejected and declared unconstitutional by state regulators.
The Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Commission called the alternative workplace-benefit plans that some employers adopted under the law "a water mirage on the highway that disappears upon closer inspection."
The unanimous ruling by the commission, issued Friday, is expected to be appealed.
NPR and ProPublica have also learned that the U.S. Department of Labor is looking at whether opt-out plans in Oklahoma and Texas violate federal law.
