Quote of the day
"Let the market develop. I want to make sure there's competition. I don't want one or two. I want competitive forces so you can shop for workers' compensation like you shop for every other insurance need you have."
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, on the state's workers' comp privatization process
Hearing Today in Salinas on Workers’ Comp Case
In Salinas, a preliminary hearing is scheduled to continue today to determine if two Smurfit-Stone Container Enterprises managers and a Pinnacle Urgent Care physician’s assistant will stand trial on workers’ compensation fraud charges. Monterey Herald [First Item] Go to the Full Story…
Mountain State Gov Asks Critics to Relax for Time Being
Critics of West Virginia’s new privatized workers’ compensation system should retreat for two years and give it time to work before considering any significant fixes, according to Gov. Joe Manchin, otherwise, “You’re going to scare everybody off from the get-go.” By Mannix Porterfield, Beckley Register-Herald
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Fix Eliminates New Hampshire’s Controversial Reform Provision
New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch signs legislation fixing a new workers’ compensation law that was intended to prevent unscrupulous contractors from hiring workers as independent contractors so they could avoid paying premiums. The law had unintended consequences: some legitimate small businesses had to pay excessive, unnecessary workers’ comp for workers who rarely visited jobsites. By AP via WCAX-TV (Burlington, Vt.)
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Granite State Trucker Faces Fraud Charges
A Goshen, N.H., man faces three felony charges of workers’ compensation fraud for allegedly continuing to work while receiving disability pay. By Kristen Senz, New Hampshire Union-Leader
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Lack of Information Frustrates Diacetyl Efforts
The public health community wants to know how many companies in the United States use an artificial butter flavoring called diacetyl. The state of Washington has been one of the leaders in attempting to get the information, but the information is difficult to obtain: firms that import or manufacture the chemical for six years have refused to name companies that purchase it. By Andrew Schneider, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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Experts’ Recs for Workplace Wellness
According a North Dakota occupational health coordinator and consultant, a successful worksite wellness program includes five specific components: assessment, discovery, intervention, communication, continuation and measurement. By Kristin Garaas-Johnson, Grand Forks Herald
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Injured at Company Party, Big Sky Workers Win Case
The Montana Supreme Court rules in favor of two employees, finding that they are entitled to workers’ comp for injuries received while on break and at a company party. By Matt Gouras, AP via Forbes
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Tasmania AG Says Gov’t Delaying Reviewing Report
Tasmania’s Shadow attorney general accuses the state government of deliberately delaying scrutiny of a report on workers’ compensation that makes 19 recommendations to improve the system, including making it easier for a seriously injured worker to sue a negligent boss. ABC News (Australia)
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