Quote of the day
"I think the concern is that every decision we make is going to be second-guessed and challenged by the [West Virginia] Legislature. Is the regulator going to be the insurance commissioner, or is the regulator going to be the Legislature?''
West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline, responding to state lawmakers' attempts to oversee the workers' comp system
Arizona Businesses Expect ‘Tough Year’
In Arizona, a minimum wage hike, a sharp rise in workers’ compensation benefits and a law that threatens to revoke licenses of employers who knowingly employ illegal immigrants, are putting the hurt on the business community. By Ronald J. Hansen, Arizona Republic
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Employee’s Sale of Personal Data BWC’s Latest Headache
An 18-year veteran claims service specialist with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation must step down after admitting that she peddled injured workers’ Social Security numbers and other private information. Toledo Blade
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Pa. Township Tables Workers’ Comp Payment to Firefighter
Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna Township supervisors table a decision to pay a firefighter’s workers’ compensation invoice because they are unsure whether the payment should come from annual fire protection payments. By Julie Benamati, Tribune-Democrat (Johnstown, Pa.)
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Mountain State Lawmakers Continue to Press Commissioner
West Virginia lawmakers vote less than unanimously on Sunday to continue to pursue a role in overseeing the privatization of the workers’ compensation system by forcing the state’s insurance commissioner to inform the legislature of all proposed changes to workers’ comp rules, policies and guidelines. Critics say that’s a “chilling” step back toward a state-run system. By AP via Charleston Daily Mail
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Commentary: Utah Lawmaker Puts Screws to Illegal Workers
Two illegal workers, both of whom are confined to wheelchairs due to a nerve disorder caused by toxic fumes they inhaled from working in a furniture manufacturing plant for several years, are lucky a judge gave them lifetime wages and medical benefits for their debilitating industrial injuries before the Utah Legislature had the chance to take that opportunity away. The state Workers Compensation Fund sent the women to the agency’s own doctor, who concluded they had suffered no debilitating injuries. By Paul Rolly, Salt Lake Tribune
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Granite State Legislators Overwhelmingly Voted Down Law
The New Hampshire Senate voted 23-0 and the House 329-6 to repeal the section of the Granite State’s workers’ comp law that many agreed unfairly burdened small firms. Lawmakers also said they would continue to work this year to try to find a solution to the employee misclassification abuses that the law targets. By Norma Love, AP via Concord Monitor
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