Editorial: An unfair taxpayer liability

Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2006 | 7:38 a.m.

Two years ago an acrobat performing in the retail area of the Aladdin's Desert Passage broke his neck in a fall from atop a five-man pyramid. The performer, paralyzed from the neck down, died last month in a Summerlin nursing home.

The tragedy of a young man living his last years undergoing surgeries, being hooked up to a respirator and in need of 24-hour nursing care cannot be overstated. There is, however, another aspect of this story, involving state law, that also compels comment.

Robert Nzovi was not covered by workers' compensation insurance when he fell on June 12, 2004. While Clark County officials, citing federal privacy laws, do not comment on specific cases, information from Nzovi's family and other sources confirmed that county taxpayers paid Nzovi's medical bills. The Las Vegas Sun, in a story Tuesday, estimated the total cost at $1.3 million.

State law does not require employers to provide health insurance. And the state workers' compensation law, which was passed in 1947 and requires most employers to carry insurance covering job-related injuries, contains an exemption for "any person engaged as a theatrical or stage performer or in an exhibition."

In our view, this exemption should be repealed. Performers, and there are thousands of them in Las Vegas alone, risk injury during their routines. While many of them appear superhuman as they accomplish amazing feats, their bodies are as prone to strains and injuries as anyone's, and perhaps even more so given the nature of their work.

Many employers simply classify performers as "independent contractors" and write into their contracts a clause saying the performers are on their own for insurance. This absolves the employer from any insurance or workers' compensation premiums. Of course, performers, many of whom are low paid, often forgo coverage to avoid the cost.

Under this scenario it is the local taxpayer who assumes the liability, as the county is obligated to provide medical care for those who can prove they cannot afford it.

A performer's employer, whether it is a hotel, promoter, booking agent or producer, should be required by law to cover him under the state's workers' compensation program.