News Digest 1/17/2007

By: Rick Waldinger

Quote of the day

"The current system is a joke. People don't really get retrained."

Tom Kwieciak, insurance programs administrator for the Building Industry Association of Washington, part of a business-labor coalition that has been meeting with the Washington Department of Labor and Industries to consider ways to increase funding to teach injured workers new skills

Go to the full story in the Yakima Herald-Republic

Washington Groups Eye Possible Vocational Rehab Changes
Providers of vocational rehabilitation services to injured workers are watching developments that could change the way they do business and boost worker retraining funds. The groups are considering asking the state legislature to increase the stipend for retraining injured workers to $12,000 from the current $4,000. By Leah Beth Ward, Yakima Herald-Republic
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Empire State’s Workers’ Comp Rated State’s Most Burdensome Cost
According to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey released yesterday, manufacturers consider New York’s workers’ compensation costs the most onerous state regulation they face. A staggering 94.9 percent of respondents say New York’s workers comp system is worse than those of other states. The Business Review (Albany)
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New York Republicans Put Workers’ Comp Bill in Play
New York State Senate Republicans’ workers’ compensation reform bill would enact many changes that the Business Council of New York State Inc. and other pro-business groups have long sought. They include capping partial permanent disability benefits at 500 weeks and eliminating strict liability for employers when workers fail to use safety equipment or were impaired by drugs or alcohol at the time of their accidents. The Business Review (Albany)
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New Congress Expected to Target Worker Safety
The new Democrat-controlled 110th Congress likely will pursue profound changes in the oversight of federal agencies that regulate worker safety and health. U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., is taking over the chairmanship of the House Education and Labor Committee. National Safety Council
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‘Compensation Culture’ Chokes English City
In Peterborough, England, payouts for slip and falls and on the city’s highways suck hundreds of thousands of pounds from the city, in what a cabinet member for the environment calls “compensation culture gone mad.” By Emma Cousins, Evening Telegraph (Peterborough, U.K.)
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MedRisk Provider Organization Expands into 10 Additional States
MedRisk’s Expert Physical Medicine Provider Organization for workers’ compensation announces that it is expanding into Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevava and New Hampshire. Forbes
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Ohio’s Drug Benefit Plan Changes
A fix to Ohio’s prescription drug program include allowing those with workers’ compensation drug benefits to participate, among other changes. By AP via Cincinnati Enquirer
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