Quote of the day
"The BWC was a flawed structure without adequate checks and balances, and it was politicized. I think the evidence would indicate that political connections were involved in a lot of the decisions that were made involving the use of public tax dollars and BWC resources."
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, on signing a bill designed to help prevent scandals in state agencies including the troubled Bureau of Workers' Compensation
Nail Techs Testify Before Senate Panel
Nail technicians, some stricken with occupational illnesses, testify before a California Senate hearing in San Francisco on safety and health issues in the nail salon industry, in which workers are exposed to carcinogenic toxins for hours every day. In California, about 80 percent of nail workers are Vietnamese. By Momo Chang, Inside Bay Area
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Bipartisan Ohio Bill Targets Fraud in State Agencies
Despite initially threatening a veto, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, signs a bill championed by the Republican state auditor that creates an independent audit committee governing internal auditors at state agencies. The aim is to prevent the kind of waste and fraud that has plagued the state Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. In related news, attorneys for Tom Noe, who was convicted last year of stealing millions of dollars from rare coin funds he managed on behalf of the BWC, ask for more time to transmit the court record from last year’s lengthy state trial. By Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch
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Compensation Battle May Outlive Asbestos Campaigner
An asbestosis-stricken former James Hardie employee who has campaigned for compensation for those suffering from asbestos poisoning is so ill he may not survive his legal case for further workers’ compensation. The Age (Melbourne)
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WCB Employee Pleads for Forgiveness for Drunken Driving Spree
After pleading guilty to three counts related to her drunken driving arrest, a 23-year-old Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board employee begs for forgiveness from one victim of her driving spree who lost a leg as a result. By Tony Blais, Edmonton Sun
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Virginia Labor Dept. Reports More Injuries for State Employees
Virginia’s private sector experienced a lower rate of workplace-related injuries and illnesses than the local government in 2006, according to the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s annual report. By Emily Poe, Cavalier Daily
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BrickStreet Reports 3Q Profit
BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co., the sole provider of workers’ comp insurance in West Virginia, posts a $24.5 million profit for the three months that ended Sept. 30 and reports spending $2 million more on its new Charleston offices than originally expected. Charleston Daily Mail
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WSI Official Temporarily Banned from Offices
The chief of support services for the North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance agency is placed on paid leave and temporarily banned from the building. The official is one of five employees of the workers’ comp agency who have asked for whistleblower protection for reporting suspected wrongdoing. By AP via Grand Forks Herald
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