Quote of the day
“Obviously, privatization worked. But it is what led up to that move that is important now.”
Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register
Note to our valued subscribers: Workers’ Comp Executive will take its annual holiday break starting Monday, December 24, 2018 through Friday, January 4, 2019. Daily netletter publication will resume Monday, January 7, 2019. We wish all our subscribers Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
Ohio: State contractor says employee fired for unethical behavior
A Columbus, Ohio company whose employee was accused of steering state information-technology contracts to another company, says it fired the man for acting unethically. The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation later terminated the contracts awarded by the Department of Administrative Services. Columbus Dispatch
Washington: Bar owner sentenced for workers’ comp fraud
A Spokane Valley, Washington man who was accused of improperly collecting $230,000 in workers’ comp and federal disability benefits while managing a bar will spend 30 days in jail and pay nearly $95,000 in restitution, pursuant to a plea agreement. Spokane Spokesman-Review
Intelligencer/News-Register editorial: ‘Innovation may be answer again’ in West Virginia
Not long ago, West Virginia’s workers’ compensation program, which now has the fourth-lowest rate for workers’ compensation insurance in the nation and are are only about one-third what the program costs in New York, according to a new study, was close to insolvency and collapse. What changed? Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register
Pinnacol: Auto accidents leading killer of Colorado workers
Colorado workers’ compensation insurer Pinnacol Assurance is urging employers in the state to implement more safe driver training after a review of claim data found vehicle accidents were responsible for four in 10 workplace deaths and $173 million in claims the past five years. Just over a quarter of work-related fatal motor accidents involved someone who likely wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, according to the insurer. Health care workers, truck drivers, chauffeurs, messengers, auto service workers and police officers were at the highest risk of being involved in a wreck. Denver Post
Does helping employees become healthier yield a more productive workforce?
Tom Carter, a vice president in the Strategic Customer Engagement group at Kaiser Permanente, discusses the massive shift he’s seeing across employers of all sizes focused around health and wellbeing. Washington Business Journal