Quote of the day
"Some people might want to be off, some people might have personal problems that would be made easier if they were off work. There are a significant amount of workers who go on workers' comp as soon as they use up all their vacation time."
Allan D. Dunkleberger, Philadelphia Parking Authority risk-management director
Patronage-Rich Philly Parking Authority Racks Up Comp Charges
Surprisingly, Philadelphia parking enforcement workers have been injured on the job more than twice as often as city firefighters or police officers over the past four years. One parking enforcement worker filed four separate workers’ comp incident reports for spider bites, recalls the authority’s risk management director. By Patrick Kerkstra, Philadelphia Inquirer
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Is There a Kezar Connection to S.F. Parks Workers’ Cancers?
The recent deaths of two San Francisco Recreation and Park Department employees and the cancer diagnosis of a third, all of whom worked or spent a significant amount of time in an office building adjacent to Kezar Pavilion, is causing alarm. But a NIOSH expert consulted by the City finds no relation to workplace exposures, despite the crumbling walls. By Brian Hoffman, San Francisco Chronicle
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OSU Scores with Novel Return-to-Work Approach
With its workers’ compensation costs nearing $10 million a year, Ohio State University started moving its injured and ailing workers to less-demanding jobs instead of leaving them at home while they recover. At the end of its first year, the program saved the school $4 million, more than double what the college had expected. Columbus Dispatch
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Connecticut Public Safety Workers Want Expanded Coverage
In Connecticut, police, firefighters and emergency rescue workers are again seeking workers’ compensation coverage for certain cancers and diseases.
The union-backed legislation returns after having stalled in the state House of Representatives in the final days of the 2007 session. By Paul Hughes, Waterbury Republican-American
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Minneapolis Cop’s Case May Trigger Law Change
A Minneapolis police officer who was injured during a training exercise is only collecting partial workers’ compensation after an injury left him permanently disabled. But state and federal lawmakers are trying to change the law that affects him and other disabled government workers. KMSP-TV (Eden Prairie, Minn.)
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Aussie State Weighs Benefit Payout Options
The WorkCover Tasmania Board commissions researchers at the University of Tasmania to investigate whether lump sums or regular payments of workers’ compensation benefits make more sense. ABC Tasmania
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