Quote of the day
"I'd like to see an audit of this procedure. They don't make the organization better. It's just an opportunity to degrade the leadership."
Sandy Blunt, North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance chief executive officer, about a performance audit that found spending improprieties and retaliation against workers who complain
Audit Finds Questionable Spending at N.D. Workers’ Comp Agency
Workforce Safety and Insurance, North Dakota’s workers’ compensation agency, overlooked state contracting and procurement rules, hired unqualified employees, and put its fraud investigators on the trail of an employee who was circulating information about large agency pay raises, according to a state performance audit. By AP via Bismarck Tribune
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Employers, Insurers Fight Benefits for Nebraska Trooper
The family of a Nebraska state trooper who committed suicide the day after deadly September 2002 shootings at a Norfolk bank is fighting for workers’ compensation. But several large businesses and insurance companies contend that benefits are not appropriate because the trooper’s suicide was reportedly the result of an innocent mistake he made, prior to the bloodbath. KTIV-TV (Sioux City, Iowa)
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Disgruntled Man Drives Car into Quebec Workers’ Comp Offices
A man is arrested after driving his vehicle into a building housing Quebec’s workers’ compensation offices. The 51-year-old suspect reportedly had previously made threats to the office. Guelph Mercury (Ontario, Canada)
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Mississippi Appeals Court Won’t Sanction Trucker’s Behavior
The Mississippi Court of Appeals denies workers’ compensation benefits to the family of a Mississippi trucker who was killed during a robbery at a Wyoming truck stop. The court says the trucker’s decision to sit in a bar, drink and play pool for 11 hours while his truck was being fixed was not part of his job. By Jack Elliott Jr., AP via Sun Herald (Gulfport – Biloxi, Miss.)
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Noe Begins His Federal Stint
The all-male, low-security federal detention center in Milan, Mich., is disgraced Ohio businessman Tom Noe’s first prolonged stop in his two-decade imprisonment, until the Bureau of Prisons determines where he will serve the bulk of his 27-month federal sentence for laundering $45,400 in contributions to the Bush/Cheney re-election campaign. Noe also recently caught an 18-year state sentence for stealing from coin funds he managed for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. By Steve Eder, Toledo Blade [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Commentary: BWC Investment Scandal Far from Over
Although two brokers recently beat the rap for allegedly bribing former Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation chief financial officer Terrence Gasper for agency investment business, the case is not over: Gasper has pleaded guilty to racketeering and money laundering charges and has yet to be sentenced; and additional charges against other players are expected. Cleveland Plain Dealer
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Alberta WCB Appeals Commission Hiring: A Conflict of Interest?
The appointment of former Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board staffers to the appeals commission jeopardizes workers’ rights to a fair hearing and creates the perception of a conflict of interest, according to the commission’s former chairman. But a spokesman says the commission needs to hire highly qualified individuals who have a working knowledge of the commission’s complex policies. By Jeremy Loome, Edmonton Sun
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Initial Reports on Colorado Lifeguard’s Injury Debunked
A Brighton, Colo., lifeguard who supposedly slipped near a pool, hit the back of his head and slid to the bottom of the pool actually jumped from the roof of the pool building, a tip-prompted investigation determines. A city manager says despite the horseplay-related nature of the injury, it may remain a workers’ compensation claim. By Linda Tharp, Brighton Standard Blade
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