Quote of the day
"I am at the end of my rope. I've sold or pawned nearly everything I have of value. I just do not know what I am going to do now for me and my family."
Derrick Graham, Las Vegas sanitation worker, who lost his leg in a workplace accident and now his job and benefits after failing a drug test
Grand Jury Issues Subpoena’s in Probe of ‘Chief’s Disease’
The Sacramento County grand jury issues subpoenas as part of a criminal investigation into workplace injury claims at the California Highway Patrol, according to sources who have given testimony. The phenomenon in the CHP of chiefs claiming workplace injuries on the verge of retirement, setting the stage for workers’ compensation settlements and lucrative disability pensions is known as “Chief’s Disease.” By John Hill, Sacramento Bee
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Delaware Commissioner Targets Comp Reform
Delaware Insurance Commissioner Matt Denn was scheduled to hold a public hearing yesterday on proposed workers compensation insurance rate increases for all businesses in the state. By Ted Griffith, News Journal (Wilmington)
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Maimed Worker Loses Leg, Then Job and Benefits After Drug Test
A Las Vegas trash collector, who lost his leg when his garbage truck ran over him 19 months ago, is living a nightmare as a failed drug test results in the loss of his job and benefits. He’s broke, with an unemployed spouse and three teenagers to support, but his lawyers question the validity and the propriety of the test. By Ed Koch, Las Vegas Sun
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EIG Offers Payout to Nevada Policyholders
A payout of $554 million or more awaits the 6,600 private companies and local governments that have workers’ compensation policies with Employers Insurance Company of Nevada: The firm’s parent company, EIG Mutual Holding Co., wants to buy out policyholders and then issue public stock. By Cy Ryan, Las Vegas Sun [Second Item] Go to the Full Story…
Business Group Says N.Y. Legislators Don’t Make the Grade
Failures to reform workers’ compensation laws and to streamline the process of building new power plants led to a dismal year for business at the Capitol, according to the New York State Business Council. The group issues an annual “report card” that grades legislators based on their voting records on specific issues. By Dan Wiessner, Star-Gazette (Elmire, N.Y.)
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Bay State Costs Drive Away Workforce
Massachusetts, which reformed its workers’ compensation in the 1990s, has significantly lower costs in that area than many of its neighbor and competitor states. However, other high costs, including housing and unemployment insurance, are eroding its workforce and putting businesses at a competitive disadvantage. By Thomas C. Palmer, Jr., Boston Globe
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Editorial: So What If It’s Legal?
Despite a plummeting caseload, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has spent nearly $1.6 billion more under its privatized care system than it would have under the old, government-run system, in part by steering business to well-connected managed care organizations. It appears to be legal, but that doesn’t make it right. Cleveland Plain Dealer
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AG Candidate Asks Ohio BWC to Hand Over Records
Ohio state Sen. Marc Dann, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, is asking the troubled Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation for records in an investigation of how it sets premiums. Dann says an internal audit is necessary as part of the bureau’s investigation into accusations that some lawmakers intervened on behalf of constituents that complained of high premium rates. By AP via Akron Beacon Journal
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