Quote of the day
"Most of the enforcement to date has targeted the undocumented workers themselves, but the climate is shifting the focus to employers. So far, it has been relatively quiet in the North Bay, but increased activity is expected statewide this summer."
Anthony Raimondo, Salinas attorney
Expert Alerts North Bay Employers to Crackdown on Illegal Workers
Immigration enforcement is picking up in pockets of the nation, and North Bay companies should redouble employee documentation efforts, an employment law expert tells more than 100 business owners and managers from the construction, manufacturing, lodging, landscaping and wine industries, at the Latinos in the Workplace workshop in Rohnert Park, last week. By Michael Coit, Santa Rosa Press Democrat
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Author Discusses Challenge of Employees Returning for Light Duty
Consultant and author Margaret Spence contends that it is critical for employers to understand every step of the process of returning injured employees to work as soon as possible. By Margaret Spence, American Chronicle
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Riverside Police Officer Convicted of Workers’ Comp Fraud
A 32-year-old Riverside police officer, whom a jury recently found guilty of workers’ compensation fraud for failing to disclose a prior injury related to the injury for which she filed a claim, will be sentenced April 11. Black Voice News
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Michigan Legislature Debates Health Plans
As Michigan legislators debate the issue of health insurance for individuals who lack employer or government plan coverage, Sen. Tom George, R-Kalamazoo, chair of the Senate Health Policy Committee, details a plan that would allow Blue Cross’ for-profit subsidiary, Accident Fund, to expand into lines of insurance beyond workers’ compensation. The company would have to pay the state $100 million for approval, with the funds going to programs to help expand health coverage. By Tim Martin, AP via South Bend Tribune
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BrickStreet May Apply Credit to State Liability
BrickStreet Insurance, which is ending the last few months of a monopoly on the West Virginia workers’ compensation market, turned a $185 million profit in 2007. The private company wants to take part of the profit to make an extra payment on the $200 million it borrowed from the state in 2006. West Virginia Metro News (Charleston)
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Montana Postal Worker Charged with Worker’s Comp Fraud
In Billings, Mont., a former Postal Service employee denies federal charges that she falsely claimed to be totally disabled while collecting nearly $69,000 in workers’ compensation benefits. By Clair Johnson, Billings Gazette
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Panel to Study Wyoming’s Workers Comp System
A legislative interim committee will study Wyoming’s workers’ compensation program, which has rebounded from a deficit in the 1980s to a cash reserve of $925 million this year. An attempt by legislators to increase premium rebates to employers recently failed when worker advocates persuaded some lawmakers to look into whether injured workers were getting sufficient compensation. By AP via Billings Gazette
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