Quote of the day
"There is something philosophically wrong when one group of business people decides that another group of business people makes too much money, and is asked to put money aside and give it to a third group of business people." Al Samuels, president and CEO of New York's Rockland Business Association, which successfully lobbied for workers' comp reform and now is pushing for health care reform
Go to the full story in the Journal News (White Plains, N.Y.)
New York’s Reform a Major Victory, But Other Bills Remain on Small Business Radar
New York business lobbying groups scored a major victory with the passage of the workers’ comp reform act recently, but they continue to vocally oppose health-care bills they claim will hurt small businesses. By Bevolyn Williams-Harold, Journal News (White Plains, N.Y.)
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Cleaning Crew Throws Out Workers’ Comp Forms
A cleaning service at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry nearly causes an identity theft disaster when it discards about 700 workers’ comp forms on a Friday afternoon, and the mistake is not recognized until the following Monday. Citizens’ Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)
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Albuquerque Roofers Charged with Forgery
An Albuquerque couple that owns of a roofing business stands accused of defrauding the New Mexico Workers’ Compensation Administration by allegedly altering a certificate of liability insurance for their business. KOB-TV (Albuquerque)
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Maine’s Workers’ Comp Ranking Improves: Report
Maine’s national ranking for workers’ compensation costs continues to improve, according to a new report covering 2006 by a New York actuarial consulting firm. Maine is now 27th in both workers compensation costs and wage replacement benefits, continuing the state’s steady improvement. By Helen Couture, AP via WCSH-TV (Portland)
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Commentary: Ohioans Right to Worry
Many Ohioans still may worry about the state Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, despite an ongoing campaign to prevent scandals like the one that cost the bureau about $300 million in investments. Such worry is well-founded, but Gov. Ted Strickland’s intention to create an independent board of financial experts to oversee the investments is a step in the right direction.
Go to the full editorial in the Wheeling (W.V.) Intelligencer
Go to the full editorial in the Cleveland Plain Dealer
Commentary: Arkansas’ Dependent Compensation Bill Held Up
After a 19-year-old Arkansas choked to death in 2004 after his shirt got caught in a wood chipper that Fed-OSHA later deemed unsafe, his survivors were unable to collect anything in workers’ compensation benefits because they were not dependents. But a bill in the Arkansas legislature to address that circumstance almost certainly will fail. By John Brummett, Arkansas News Bureau
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Applicant May Have Been Misled, DC Court Rules
The District of Columbia Department of Employment Services may have caused an injured worker to untimely file for permanent total disability benefits, according to a recent D.C. Court of Appeals order. The pro se applicant claims an agency attorney did not specify to her that a motion for extension of time to file an appeal had to be filed during a 30-day window. By John O’Brien, Legal Newsline
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