Quote of the day
"We are certainly in a much better position now than we were 10 years ago, when they began considering the formation of HEMIC."
Hawaii Insurance Commissioner J.P. Schmidt, about Hawaii Employers' Mutual Insurance Co., which just announced its first-ever dividend to members, and the improving workers' comp market in the state
Dominant Hawaii Comp Insurer Announces First Dividend
Reflecting improving conditions in the state’s workers’ compensation market, Hawaii Employers’ Mutual Insurance Co., the state’s largest workers’ comp insurer, announces its first-ever dividend of $5 million. “This is a watershed event,” says to HEMIC president and CEO Bob Dove. By Rick Daysog, Honolulu Advertiser
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The Party May Be Over in North Dakota
Republican state senators in North Dakota repudiate a proposal by fellow Republicans’ in the state House of Representatives to allow a $50,000 “party fund” to pay for employee gifts and parties at Workforce Safety and Insurance, the state’s workers’ compensation agency. The House Republican majority leader says he does not expect the proposal to survive further legislative scrutiny. By Dale Wetzel, AP via Bismarck Tribune
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Opinion: Conn. Towns Can’t Afford Public Employee Unions’ Bill
A bill in the Connecticut General Assembly would force municipalities to pay for benefits to firefighters who are diagnosed with certain types of cancer, heart disease or hypertension, without requiring them to show the ailments are work-related, and also require municipalities to pay the costs of police officers or firefighters who have infectious or contagious diseases that are not necessarily work-related. House Bill 6956 would be the largest unfunded state mandate on municipalities in recent history. By Keith J. Robbins, Hartford Courant
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South Carolina Senate Approves Workers’ Comp Overhaul
The South Carolina approves workers’ compensation reform that would eliminate the state’s Second Injury Fund, allow felony charges against employers that understate payroll or improperly classify workers, and cut benefits for certain types of ailments. But Gov. Mark Sanford calls the bill “weak” for falling short of the changes he and business groups sought. By Jim Davenport, AP via Myrtle Beach Online
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Prosecutors: NYC Social Worker Looted Workers’ Comp Account
A New York social worker charged more than $3.5 million in jewelry using a city government account and then had some mailed to a homeless shelter where he worked, charge prosecutors. The bank account was one maintained by the New York Comptroller’s office to cover workers’ compensation claims. Reuters
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Devastating 1978 Hit Changed NFL PD Rules
The career-ending tackle nearly 30 years ago that broke the neck of National Football League wide receiver Daryl Stingley, who died last week in Chicago, changed the way the league compensates permanently disabled players. Active players who incur permanent disability are entitled to annual compensation, known as “the Stingley benefit.” By Alan Schmadtke, Orlando Sentinel
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Workers’ Comp Eats Pennsylvania Town’s Potential Road Fund
A Pittsburgh-area township’s 5-percent cable franchise fee that supervisors had hoped to use for road improvements will go toward increased workers’ compensation premiums, officials tell angry residents. By Judy Kroeger, Connellsville Daily Courier
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