Quote of the day
“When those things burn, the glues, the synthetic materials, the plastics, the chemicals in your furniture and home itself, we breathe that in.”
Mobile, Alabama Fire-Rescue spokesman Steven Millhouse
Alabama lawmakers look to protect cancer-prone profession
The Centers for Disease Control found firefighters have a 9% higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14 percent higher risk of dying from cancer than the general U.S. population. An Alabama state representative who is also a retired firefighter wants to change the state’s workers’ comp laws so cancer would be a recognized occupational disease. NBC 15 [with video]
Virginia firemen travel to capitol to push lawmakers for coverage
Two Bristol, Virginia firemen are among colleagues gathering in the state capital in an attempt to persuade legislators to change current workers’ compensation law so firefighters who have work-related cancer aren’t denied coverage. WCYB [with video]
Montana bill would tax wholesale fireworks to give workers’ comp to volunteer firefighters
Volunteer firefighters are asking the Montana Legislature for a 5 percent tax on wholesale fireworks to help pay for workers’ compensation for the poorest fire departments. Several fireworks retailers are pushing back. This year, there are two bills in the state legislature aimed at covering volunteer firefighters. Missoulian
Mississippi gov makes appointment to Workers Comp Commission
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has appointed Mark Henry to a six-year term on the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, replacing Thomas A. Webb, whose term expired. Henry is the Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. In 2000, former Gov. Kirk Fordice appointed Henry as an Administrative Judge at the Workers’ Compensation Commission where he served until 2008. Mississippi Business Journal
Trust in Japanese government statistics damaged by faulty job data: Poll
According to a new poll, nearly 80 percent of people have lost trust in the Japanese government’s economic statistics amid a recent scandal of falsely collected wage data. The Officials admitted last week they had failed to pay more than $495.7 million in unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and sailors’ insurance. The issue came to light after the ministry was found to have published its monthly labor survey without collecting enough data. Xinhua