Quote of the day
"The big concern I have is, where is the accountability to an elected official or officials? And I don't find it in our current structure,"
North Dakota Republican State Sen. David Nething, a sponsor of a bill that would return control of the state's Workforce Safety and Insurance agency to the governor
Bipartisan Agreement in North Dakota over Workers’ Comp Bill
In continuing fallout from an audit that found morale problems at the state’s workers’ compensation insurance agency, Republicans and Democrats in North Dakota are supporting a Senate bill that returns control of Workforce Safety and Insurance agency to the governor, on grounds that it is too independent. The WSI board opposes the bill. By Janell Cole, Fargo Forum
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Sept. 11 Comp Claims Cutoff Date Looms, NYCOSH Warns
The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health and other worker advocates go on a communications blitz to encourage anyone who worked or volunteered in Lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to register for benefits before the extended Aug. 14, 2007 deadline. By Skye H. McFarlane, Downtown Express (New York)
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Montana State Fund Eyes Facility as School Board Dithers
The Helena School Board of Trustees fails to come to a decision on the possible sale of a Helena building to the workers’ compensation insurer Montana State Fund, which has shown interest in purchasing the property to construct a new facility. By Alana Listoe, Helena Independent Record
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Florida Business Owner Denies Illegal Worker Scheme
The owner of a South Florida check-cashing business pleads not guilty to allegedly conspiring with shell companies that provided workers’ compensation insurance certificates to construction subcontractors in exchange for a percentage of the payroll. Prosecutors say the subcontractors employed unauthorized foreign workers to avoid paying employment taxes or insurance, then used the workers’ comp policies to obtain lucrative construction contracts. By Pedro Ruz Gutierrez, Orlando Sentinel
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Pennsylvania County Prison Board Probes Claims of Bogus Injuries
The Beaver County, Pa., Prison Board tells a private investigator to continue investigating a guard’s allegations that other guards beat inmates and schemed to fake an injury in order to collect workers’ compensation. By AP via Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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Employers Holdings Announces IPO
Reno-based specialty workers’ compensation insurer Employers Holdings Inc. announces that it plans to offer 23 million shares in an initial public offering, priced between $14 to $16 per share. By AP via Yahoo!
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Will Proposed Changes to Connecticut’s Comp Law Do Any Good?
Some injured workers navigating Connecticut’s workers’ compensation bureaucracy say employers make it difficult for them to get proper care in the name of saving money. Will proposed changes to workers’ compensation law that would require employers to tell workers about paperwork they should file and allow commissioners to order payments for a longer period to injured workers alleviate the nightmare faced by thousands of workers? By Meir Rinde, Hartford Advocate
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Georgia County Receives Dividend from Group Fund
Emanuel County, Ga., receives a more than $21,500 premium credit from Association County Commissioners of Georgia-Group Self-Insurance Workers’ Compensation Fund, as the county’s share a $3 million dividend. The Blade Plus (Swainsboro, Ga.)
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New Return-to-Work Guidelines in Manitoba
Manitoba employers must develop and expand the practice of re-employing workers after they have been sick or injured: the Workers Compensation Board says new provisions including modifying duties or making reasonable changes to the workplace to accommodate the needs of such workers are effective as of January 1, 2007. CJOB 68 Radio (Winnipeg)
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Yukon on Pace to Set Injury Record
A spokesperson for the Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board says the Yukon Territory is on course for another record year for workplace injuries, a development the president of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce calls “shocking.” Whitehorse Star
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