Quote of the day
"The problem is very large. There are certain industries in which this has become the normal course of doing business."
New Jersey Labor Commissioner David Socolow, about failure to insure workers
Bay State Court Denies Sleep-Deprived Big Digger
A former carpenters’ foreman on Boston’s massive Big Dig construction project cannot collect workers’ compensation, according to Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. A Department of Industrial Accidents judge had found that the worker, who was injured in a car crash after working 27 hours without sleep, could collect benefits because the accident was caused by work-related exhaustion; the worker claimed he would lose his job if he did not stay late to supervise the pouring of concrete. By AP via Boston Herald
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Korea: Closed Circuit TV Surveillance Triggers Compensable Injury
Workers who claim they are stressed-out from employer surveillance cameras should be acknowledged as suffering from a compensable “adjustment disorder,” a Korea administrative court rules after agreeing that the cameras functioned as control devices that put immense stress on workers.
Go to the full story by Bae Ji-sook, Korea Times
Go to the full story in Independent Online (South Africa)
Scofflaw Bosses a Nightmare for Injured Garden State Workers
Each year, thousands of New Jersey workers get hurt on the job and discover to their personal and financial horror that their employer ignored workers’ compensation coverage requirements. A 2006 audit found that that three of every five of landscapers and nail salons, and two of every five construction companies reviewed, failed to properly insure workers. The Newark Star-Ledger continues its series on the state’s litigious, politically tainted $1.8 billion-a-year workers’ comp system. By Dunstan McNichol and John P. Martin, Star-Ledger (Newark) [may require registration] Go to the Full Story…
Keystone State Town Sues Neighbor over Unpaid Workers’ Comp
Reading Township, Pa. sues a neighboring township for allegedly going three years without paying workers’ compensation costs for a fire company that serves both municipalities. By Melody Asper, Evening Sun (Hanover, Pa.)
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Author Narrows Scope of Nebraska Mental Injury Bill
The author of a bill in the Nebraska Legislature that would allow workers’ compensation for some cases of job-related mental trauma agrees to limit coverage to police, firefighters and other first responders who experience “extraordinary and unusual” conditions on the job.
Go to the full story by Martha Stoddard, Omaha World-Herald
Go to the full story by Anna Jo Bratton, AP via Forbes
Connecticut Gov Taps Two for Workers’ Comp Commission
Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell nominates two lawyers to serve on the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission. Hartford Courant
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Badger State Sees Rapid Rise in Costs
The average workers compensation total cost per claim in Wisconsin grew rapidly from 2000 through 2005, fueled primarily by an increase in medical payments per claim, according to a recent study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute that also found Wisconsin among the lowest of the 14 states reviewed. WisBusiness.com
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Mountain State Prepares for Privatization; Commish Misses Forum
Employers in Martinsburg, W.V., attend a meeting of the WorkForce West Virginia Employer Advisory Committee that features representatives of BrickStreet Mutual, the state’s exclusive workers’ comp insurer until the system opens up to competition in July. Meanwhile, the state Insurance Commission hosts a forum for companies interested in entering the market without the commissioner in attendance. By Jenni Vincent, Journal-News [with photo] Go to the Full Story…
Advice for Small Companies in Risky Businesses
For self-employed people who work in fields perceived to be high-risk, here is some expert advice on worker’s comp, disability, and health insurance. By Karen E. Klein, Business Week
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