News Digest 1/29/2008

By: Rick Waldinger

Quote of the day

"There's no way that any worker should have to fear that their personal information is shared or in the hands with someone else. There should have been measures so that it would never happen."

Patricia Dodd, president of the Injured Workers' Association, regarding the security breach at the Newfoundland and Labrador workers' compensation agency

Go to the full story in CBC News

Workers’ Comp Personal Data Breach Triggers Concern
Personal data on injured workers held by the Newfoundland and Labrador Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission, as well as justice department files related to occupational health and safety, may have been exposed over the internet, a justice minister announces. A private contractor, who had been working for the commission, had files on a personal computer that was connected to a file-sharing program. CBC News [with photo] Go to the Full Story…

Volunteer State Employers Target Workers’ Comp Loopholes
Eliminating loopholes in workers’ compensation law is one of the top goals of the Tennessee business community for the state’s 2008 legislative season. Proposed legislation would protect employers in the wake of state high court decisions ruling that employers are responsible for claims of employees hurt while working at home or at a company-sponsored fitness center. By Brent Carney, Bristol Herald Courier [with photo] Go to the Full Story…

New Commissioner Named to Connecticut WCC
Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell announces the appointment of a new commissioner for the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission. Hartford Courant
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Empire State Taxi Company Can Roll Again
Binghamton, N.Y., officials reinstate the business license of Yellow Cab and Yellow Medi-Van after revoking it in response to the state’s cancellation of the company’s workers’ compensation fund in late December. By Brian Liberatore, Press & Sun Bulletin (Binghamton)
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Privatization Critic Announces Gubernatorial Run
Blasting the state’s new, privatized workers’ compensation system and the “bullying” of Gov. Joe Manchin’s administration, West Virginia Del. Mel Kessler, a Democrat, acknowledges his quest for the governor’s office is a long shot. “He acted like he didn’t know BrickStreet had tapped into the old fund by $3.5 million,” Kessler says about Manchin. By Mannix Porterfield, Beckley Register-Herald
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Spine Specialist: Workplace Injuries Affect More Than Workers
A State College, Pa., physical therapist who has been treating worker’s compensation patients for 14 years discusses the how the effects of a workplace injury go beyond just the injured worker, and some strategies for employers to control their workers’ comp costs. By Alicia Hinnergardt, Centre Daily Times
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