Quote of the day
"That scares everybody.''
Arizona State Sen. Sen. Barbara Leff, about labor groups' intention to seek the right of injured workers to not only collect benefits but also to sue employers when a workplace accident results from a knowing violation of health and safety rules, if state lawmakers fail to enact a four-year plan for benefit hikes by the time this legislative session ends
Arizona Workers May See First Benefit Raise in Nearly Ten Years
Injured Arizona workers may be in line for the first benefit increase in close to a decade: A deal being offered by key lawmakers and business representatives would boost the maximum monthly payment to $1,933 next year, $333 more than the current limit, which was last changed in 1999. By Howard Fischer, Arizona Daily Star (Tucson)
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Comp Fraud by Bosses on the Rise
Workers’ compensation fraud by employers appears to be up significantly in California: the number of suspected fraudulent claims by California employers increased to 2,056 in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006, almost five times as many as the 417 in fiscal year 2003, according to the state Department of Insurance, but it’s unclear whether more fraud is simply being reported and prosecuted. By Kathy Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal via MSNBC
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Obese Workers Cost Employers More: Study
A study by Duke University researchers finds that the heaviest employees had twice the rate of workers’ compensation claims as physically workers. According to the study, obese workers are more likely to have claims involving injuries to the back, wrist, arm, neck, shoulder, hip, knee and foot than other employees. Chicago Sun-Times
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North Dakota Gov Mulls Removing Workers’ Comp Director
A spokesman for North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven says the office is researching whether the governor has the power under a law that applies to “any custodian of public moneys” to remove the state workers’ compensation director, who is on paid leave and facing three felony charges, from his job. KFYR-TV (Bismarck)
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Schumer Promises Help for Radiation Victims
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D.-N.Y., says workers exposed to radiological contaminants at a toxic Hicksville, N.Y., site will receive testing, treatment and compensation, if possible. An injured worker recently won a workers’ compensation case that claimed he contracted an extremely rare form of cancer while working at the site from 1991 to 2003. By Mark Harrington, Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.)
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Commentary: A Better System in Ohio
Ohio State Auditor Mary Taylor pushes a measure intended to avoid another scandal like the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation rare coin and hedge fund investment fiascoes, by centralizing auditors in the state’s budget office. Cleveland Plain Dealer
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Acquisition Triggers Debate in Garden State
In New Jersey, Commerce Bank’s purchase the Public Entity Risk Management Administration, which manages the 33-town Morris County (N.J.) Joint Insurance Fund, raises questions of potential conflicts of interest. Commerce Bank is a major client of the fund. By Lawrence Ragonese, Newark Star-Ledger
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