Quote of the day
"One of the very first things I would do is just to start talking to people, and listening to people," Furness said. "I'd start, probably, with the senior management team, and work down to front-line employees."
Bruce Furness, new interim chief of North Dakota's state workers' comp agency
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New Chief of WSI to Start Next Week
Bruce Furness, who helped resolve some festering city personnel problems as mayor of Fargo, plans to start next week as the interim chief executive of North Dakota’s troubled workers compensation agency, Workforce Safety and Insurance.
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Debunking the ‘Victimless Crime’ Myth
Many people view insurance fraud as victimless, rationalizing that only wealthy insurance companies feel the impact. But law enforcement and insurance experts say nothing could be further from the truth. State Journal (Charleston, W.V.)
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Iowa Town’s Fire Chief Praises City’s Workers’ Comp History
In a presentation to the Internal Operations Committee this week, the Clinton, Iowa fire chief describes the city’s workers’ compensation loss history as very good, and that incidents are being documented well, so habitual incidents can be tracked. By Danica Baker, Clinton Herald
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Wyoming: Different Perspectives on Nearly $1B Cash Reserve
Since 1986, Wyoming’s workers’ compensation program has gone from hemorrhaging $700,000 monthly, with millions in unfunded liability, to a $925 million cash reserve. Employers likely would argue that the surplus is evidence they’re paying too much into the program, while worker advocates probably would contend that employer premiums are fair, and the surplus is at the expense of injured workers. By Dustin Bleizeffer, Jackson Hole Star-Tribune
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Britain’s Sick Rolls May Spur Sea Change in Benefits Culture
In the U.K., around 2.7 million people receive incapacity benefits, at least half of whom have been off work for more than five years; 40% of them cite mental health issues. These statistics are relevant to Health secretary Alan Johnson’s plan to tackle what he calls the “sick-note culture,” by having doctors write “well-notes” instead, and instituting a return-to-work plan. By Esther Cameron, Guardian (U.K.)
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