Last
year (the OJCC operates on a fiscal year that begins July 1 each year and
concludes the next June 30), thousands of documents were filed with the Office
of Judges of Compensation Claims. Obviously, some were filed by Claimants and
some by Employer/Carriers. The “service” of these motions has traditionally
been a job for the U.S. Postal Service or the facsimile machine. In a general
sense, each motion is served on counsel for the opposing party. There are those
attorneys who will serve a motion on both the attorney and the party, but that
is very rare.
The
current cost of a First Class stamp is $.46. The postal service rates have been
rising. In 1863, the cost for the first one ounce was $.06. That decreased to
$.02 by 1885, and remained somewhat consistent until 1932, when the Postal
Service increased the cost to $.03, where it remained for almost 20 years. If
the historic inflation rate were applied to that $.02 applicable in the early
20th Century, the cost of a postage stamp today would be $.47, so the USPS is
beating inflation. Inflation will likely continue, and the cost of postage will likely continue to rise.
Certified
mail adds $3.10 to the cost. This service is intended to prove both the mailing
and the receipt of documents. For merely $3.56 ($.46 + $3.10) you can mail a one ounce letter
and both prove that you mailed it and prove that the addressee received it.
This was the procedural tool adopted by the legislature in 1994 for sending
both petitions for benefits and the responses required by law.
The
cost of postage is a cost of doing business in the litigation world
generally, and until a few years ago was as major in the micro-litigation world
that is Florida workers’ compensation. What has e-service saved the
marketplace?
Last
year, there were 58,041 Petitions filed. By law, those are to be served by
Certified mail, unless served through our e-portal, the e-JCC service process.
At $3.57 each, those PFB represent an
expenditure of $206,626 (58,041 x $3.56). (That was saved in the e-portal
serving the carrier). Remember that before e-filing that same amount was
required to file by Certified mail with the OJCC, a total of $413,252).
Last
year, there were 42,116 Responses to Petitions filed. Each of these would have
cost $3.56 each to send to the OJCC by Certified and $3.56 each to send to
Claimant or counsel by U.S. Certified mail. E-Filing and e-service saved the
market another $299,866 (42,116 x $3.56 x 2).
Last
year, parties e-filed 502,448 documents with the OJCC. Of these, 59,432 were
petitions for benefits, discussed above. Another 42,116 were Responses to
Petitions, also discussed above. This leaves 402,291 (502,448 - 59,432 -
42,116) documents e-filed. Each of those saved the sender at least $.46 in
expense of mailing to the Judge’s office. Most or all of those would have been
e-served on opposing counsel. Thus another e-filing savings to the marketplace
of about $370,108 (402,291 x $.46 x 2).
The
combined one-year savings to the workers’ compensation marketplace from the
e-filing and e-service tools? $1,083,226 ($413,252 + $299,866 + $370,108). Yes, that is over one million dollars in annual savings to the marketplace from the
combination of e-service and e-filing. As postage charges continue to rise in
the future, these savings will remain, and the value of both e-JCC processes will
become greater.
Also,
the system results in savings for the state. There were 112,712 motion and
stipulation orders issued last year. Before e-service, the OJCC was sending two
(at least) of those orders out by U.S. Mail, one to each party or counsel. That
$103,695.04 (112,712 x $.46 x 2) expense was avoided last year through the use of e-service. Likewise,
for the 58,041 Petitions filed last year, at least one notice was sent
(mediation), in some cases more than one was sent (mediation and trial). The minimum
that was saved on notices through e-service was $53.397.72 (58,041 x $.46 x 2). The e-service process saved the state at
least $157,092.76 ($103,695.04 + $53.397.72) last year.
Annual
savings to market
Annual
savings to OJCC $157,093
This
$1,240,329 in savings is significant, recurs annually, and represents only actual
postage savings resulting from e-JCC capabilities. In addition, tons of paper,
significant document preparation time, and document processing time were also
saved.
Overall,
the e-service and e-filing system has produced financial savings to the
marketplace of $4,323,894.34 since it was deployed in 2005 through the end of last fiscal year on June 30, 2013.
These numbers are particularly interesting when I consider that the OJCC has not yet invested one million dollars in the e-JCC system that is generating savings to the marketplace and state in excess of one million dollars annually.
These numbers are particularly interesting when I consider that the OJCC has not yet invested one million dollars in the e-JCC system that is generating savings to the marketplace and state in excess of one million dollars annually.
We all periodically hear the sarcastic reference to “your tax dollars at work.” The
difference here is that no tax dollars contribute in any way to the operation
of the OJCC. One hundred percent of the funding for your OJCC comes from the
Administrative Trust Fund, which is funded by assessments on insurance policies
for workers’ compensation. The second difference here is that there is no
sarcasm, this is your assessment dollars at work, providing efficiency,
transparency and savings for the Florida workers’ compensation marketplace.
The value is clear. The value will only become more impressive as postage rates continue their inevitable path upwards.
The value is clear. The value will only become more impressive as postage rates continue their inevitable path upwards.
