Quote of the day
"It's been underfunded for years, but the county has been relying on payments it receives from the state to get through the year."
Otsego County (N.Y.) Attorney Rodney Klafehn, about the county's workers' comp reserve fund
Anonymous Tip Triggered Probe of Market
Two managers of a Bel Air supermarket face a sentence of 45 days in Placer County jail, which they can serve as 360 hours of community service and three years of probation. An anonymous tip triggered the investigation, which led to the two no-contest pleas for dissuading injured employees from filing state workers’ comp claims. By Jon Ortiz, Sacramento Bee
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Massachusetts Fines Carrier for Employee Classifications
The Massachusetts attorney general fines FedEx Corp.’s ground delivery unit more than $190,000 for allegedly illegally classifying 13 drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, depriving them of benefits including workers’ compensation. By AP via PhillyBurbs.com
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N.Y. County Warned About Underfunded Workers Comp Reserves
The outgoing attorney for Otsego County, N.Y., tells the county board that it needs to build up its underfunded workers’ compensation reserve fund, and that the recent state workers’ compensation reform law, which boosted benefits and cut private employers’ costs, will cost the county money. By Tom Grace, Daily Star (Oneonta, N.Y.)
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Results of Fraud Sting in Nassau County Released
The results of a yearlong investigation into 10 separate allegations of worker’s compensation fraud that were referred to the Nassau County district attorney’s office by state insurance officials have been announced by the district attorney who says the total theft amounts to more than $976,000. North Country Gazette
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Feds May Withhold Settlement from West Virginia
Federal officials again threaten to withhold Medicaid funds from West Virginia over the state’s handling of a lawsuit settlement, part of which was allocable to the state’s former workers’ compensation system. By AP via Charleston Daily Mail
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South Florida New Top ‘Judicial Hellhole’
South Florida tops the American Tort Reform Association’s new “Judicial Hellholes 2007” report. According to Washington-based ATRA, “their collective reputation for high awards and plaintiff-friendly rulings make Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties a launching pad for class actions, dubious claims and novel legal theories of recovery.” By Mark A. Hofmann, Business Insurance
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