Bureau Welcomes New Administrator, Troy Haley

Troy Haley, former Legislative Liaison of the Bureau, is now the new administrator for the Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Below are some questions that he answered to get a view of his vision for the future of the Bureau.

Q: What did you do before working at the Bureau?  
A: I spent 15+ years doing legal work for banks, mortgage companies, and credit unions: mainly transactional work, foreclosures, land/title research, etc. 

Q: At this past conference, it was said that none of us really choose to be in “workers’ compensation”, and that we all sort of arrived here by accident. What “accident” ultimately led you to get here?  
A: After being in the financial world, I was burned out and really wanted to do something different, positive, and meaningful. I was attracted to the mediation program which was, then, the Workers’ Comp Division within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. I almost went to work for TennCare, but mediation was what I wanted to do. It was a hard job, yet very challenging, stimulating, and rewarding.

Q: What would you say inspired you the most to choose to go to law school?  
A: Right after college, I worked for a couple of banks and became interested in bankruptcy law by being involved in debt collection. That’s what got me interested. I started night classes at the Nashville School of Law, but I was hit in a head-on collision on Briley Parkway after I started classes. I had to withdraw. The next summer, I moved to Memphis and entered the full-time law program there.

Q: What are you looking forward to the most in this new role?  
A: Working with and getting to know the few people I don’t yet know very well at BWC, as well as catching up with people that I’ve known for a long time but have lost touch with.

Q: What is your vision for the BWC, now that you are an administrator?  
A: I would like to expand the UEF benefit program to include a death benefit, permanent disability benefit, and raise statutory limits. Currently, the only benefits available to injured workers—whose employer cheated and broke the law by not having workers’ comp coverage—are temporary disability benefits and medical benefits, both of which are capped at $20,000. Also, I would like to expand our ombudsman attorney program to add more attorneys, and we need more applicants for our vocational recovery (“Next Step”) program. It’s a good opportunity for injured workers to get money for college.

Q: How will your experience as a Mediator, Legislative Liaison, and Director of the Penalty Program help you in this role?  
A: I like just about everyone I have met since I started working for the BWC: legislators, lawyers, judges, mediators, and everyone at BWC. There is something likable about every single person I know. Listening to input from everyone and considering different opinions are so important. We all have a purpose to fulfill in life and working here has been a big part of mine.

Q: How can the current BWC staff help you to succeed?  
A: We have an amazing group of intelligent and hardworking people at BWC, and our external stakeholders know this. It’s so great to work with them! I think everyone continuing to do their best makes me and everyone else look good.

Amanda Terry, former Compliance Director, is now the Bureau's Legislative Liaison; and Claudia Byers joins the Bureau’s Executive Team as the new Compliance Director.