Quote of the day
"What we've been doing all along is trying to ensure that the program is implemented in a way that is fair and consistent and in accord with the law."
Shelby Hallmark, the Labor Department's director of workers' compensation programs, defending Bush administration efforts to limit payouts to ill nuclear weapons workers
Premiums to Retreat in Virginia Starting in April
Virginia workers’ compensation premiums will decline April 1 for all job categories except surface mining, after the National Council on Compensation Insurance proposes premium changes and the State Corporation Commission approves them with revisions. By Greg Edwards, Richmond Times-Dispatch
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Administration Tried to Cut Payouts to Sick Nuke Weapons Workers
The Bush administration repeatedly sought ways to limit payouts to nuclear weapons workers with cancers and other job-related illnesses, according to a memo written by congressional investigators. Officials characterize the efforts as necessary to prevent undue compensation. By Peter Eisler, USA Today
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Employers Holdings Registers for IPO
Reno-based workers’ compensation insurer Employers Holdings Inc. files for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The carrier focuses on select small businesses engaged in low to medium hazard industries. By AP via Houston Chronicle
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Commentary: Delaware Legislature Needs to Get Its Act Together
The Delaware legislature should appreciate that Insurance Commissioner Matt Denn is holding the line on a workers’ compensation premium increase, and make a permanent fix a top priority when it returns to session in January. Delaware workers’ comp premium rates rank third highest in the nation. News Journal (Wilmington, Del.)
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Washington Tax Break Would Affect Workers’ Comp
Gov. Christine Gregoire’s proposed six-month tax break would affect the medical-aid portion of workers’ compensation, which makes up more than one-third of the workers’ comp tax paid by businesses. The By Brad Shannon, the Olympian
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Former District Worker Decries the Workers’ Comp ‘Runaround’
“You do everything that’s requested of you. The next thing you know, the nightmare begins,” says Brenda Day, a veteran Washington, D.C. Department of Health worker, about her frustrating inability to collect workers’ compensation for an injury that left her paralyzed and bedridden for 18 months. Will legislation pending before the D.C. Council make it easier on workers like Day? By Courtney Mabeus, the Examiner (Washington, D.C.) [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Dakota Workers’ Comp Director Defiant
Sandy Blunt, North Dakota’s workers compensation director, says he will not step down from his post despite a letter from more than a dozen Democratic state legislators calling for his dismissal. A recent state audit of the Workforce Safety and Insurance agency found morale problems among employees who fear retaliation if they complain. By Dale Wetzel, AP via Bismarck Tribune
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BrickStreet CEO Seeks City Council Seat
Greg Burton, president and CEO of BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co., West Virginia’s private and exclusive workers’ compensation insurer, launches a bid for a seat on the Charleston City Council. Burton is a former city manager. By Jim Balow, Charleston Gazette
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