Quote of the day
“A simple change in the federal law to exclude recreational water-sport vessels from the Jones Act would reduce premium costs for businesses, which would only have to purchase and comply with state coverage rules.”
Nicholas DeSimone, freelance policy journalist
Washington Examiner
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.
Surfboards creating big problems for workers’ comp
The Jones Act, a federal governing maritime activities and providing seamen with a personal injury negligence remedy, doesn’t just apply to shipping vessels, but other qualifying vessels such as surfboards and kayaks. That’s negatively affecting workers’ compensation insurance for small businesses in Hawaii, according to policy journalist Nicholas DeSimone. Washington Examiner
Family of woman who died at Idaho company cannot sue, court rules
Upholding the state’s exclusive remedy provision, the Idaho Supreme Court has ruled that the family of a 63-year-old woman who was killed while working at a seed production company when her hair became caught in a machine she was cleaning cannot sue her employer civilly. The attorney for the family, which received workers’ compensation benefits, had hoped to create a new precedent that would allow for recourse outside the workers’ comp system. Idaho Statesman
Illinois: Altamont board awards workers’ comp coverage
Altamont, Illinois school board members Tuesday approved workers’ compensation insurance coverage with Zenith, to be handled through a local firm. WXEF (Effingham, Ill.)
Minnesota’s workplace deaths increased in 2017
Workplace injuries killed 101 Minnesotans in 2017, marking the third year in a row that the number rose, according to the state’s Department of Labor and Industry. Nearly half of the deaths involved transportation, and more than half involved workers aged 55 and older. Moreover, deaths in the retail sector and those due to violence increased. Duluth News Tribune
Arkansas governor to make appointment AWCC
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has announced his intent to appoint Scott Willhite of Jonesboro to the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission, a position that carries a six-year term. Willhite will serve as the labor commissioner and will replace outgoing Commissioner Philip Hood. Willhite is chair of the Craighead County Republican Committee. Talk Business & Politics