Quote of the day
“The vast majority of employers have a zero tolerance policy.”
Delaney McKinley, Michigan Manufacturers Association
How will Michigan’s cannabis legalization affect blue collar workforce?
Employers and employees in industries including lumber, electrical work and mining—sectors that often have higher injury or death rates than other fields—are dealing with Michigan’s new law legalizing recreational use of marijuana for adults and how it can affect drug policy, the ability to fill jobs and employee retention. Spartan News Room
State of Washington used unaccredited school to retrain injured workers
The state of Washington reportedly has paid millions of dollars to an online, unaccredited school to retrain injured workers, without proof of success. Injured workers complained they got meaningless retraining certifications, which led the state’s Department of Labor and Injuries in some cases to terminate their workers’ compensation benefits. KING (Seattle) [with video]
New York stenographer charged with overbilling $187K over four years
A 47-year-old Oswego County, New York court stenographer was arrested last week and charged with allegedly bilking four workers’ compensation insurance firms out of $187,000 over four years, for allegedly routinely adding zeros to her billing invoices, multiplying them by 10. The state’s Workers’ Compensation Fraud Inspector General received multiple complaints from insurance carriers that the defendant was overbilling for services provided. NNY360/Watertown Daily Times
Minnesota bill would provide farm safety grants
Minnesota state legislators have introduced a bill to provide grants for farmers and schools to upgrade equipment for safety. If passed, the state could provide grants for schools and farmers to upgrade their tractors built before 1987 to cover the cost of purchasing, shipping and installing a roll-over protective structure. According to the Centers for Disease Control, rollover situations are the leading cause of fatalities on farms. Austin Daily Herald