News Digest 5/14/2008

By: Rick Waldinger

Quote of the day

"The crucial issue is not so much the statute of limitations per se but what is the significance of the very much-used generic CROR and whether or not that is simply a way for the commission to avoid scheduling hearing after hearing as an administrative matter ... or whether it confers some additional degree of status on the party so that it preserves the substantive issues."

James Haynes, an alternate judge on the federal Employees' Compensation Appeals Board, who was previously with Maryland's Injured Workers Insurance Fund

Go to the full story in the Maryland Daily Record

Maryland Court: Injured Worker Waited Too Long to Renew Claim
A labor and employment statute described as “a hotbed of litigation” may head to Maryland’s highest court after the Court of Special Appeals limits the Workers’ Compensation Commission’s authority to reopen awards. Under the statute, the time limit for seeking modification of an award is five years; the dispute centers on the effect of the “continued reset on request” notation commonly used in workers’ comp cases when a case is postponed but issues are still pending. By Christina Doran, Maryland Daily Record
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Illinois Loses Nazi-Hunting Workers’ Comp Expert
After World War II, Douglas F. Stevenson, who died last month at 86, became part of a team that hunted Nazis in Germany, helping recover documents that had once belonged to Adolf Hitler. After that, he became a legal expert on worker’s compensation, representing hundreds of businesses and serving as the executive director of the National Council of Self-Insurers and as a trustee of the National Foundation for Unemployment Compensation and Workers’ Compensation. By Joan Giangrasse Kates, Chicago Tribune
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Commentary: N.C. Governor Steps Up for Labor Commissioner
In the wake of a damning report on working conditions in the Carolinas’ poultry industry, thank goodness there’s a public official in Raleigh looking out for the safety and health of the state’s workers. That official ought to be the labor commissioner, but it’s not: it’s North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley, who is proposing more funds, more staff and more authority to provide adequate oversight. Charlotte Observer
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Workers’ Comp Inspection of Whitehorse Hospital Finds Violations
A March workers’ compensation inspection of the health records room at Whitehorse General Hospital revealed alleged six violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, including ventilation filters that had not been replaced since late 2005 or early 2006. The agency’s communications director will not comment on what precipitated the inspection. Whitehorse Daily Star
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OKC Business Merges with Florida Workers’ Comp Administrator
Oklahoma City’s Claimetrics, an Express Employment Services affiliate, plans to merge with Florida’s Unisource Administrators, a Florida-based provider of workers’ compensation products and services to employers and governmental entities. OKC Business
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Pennsylvania Prison Struggles with Overtime Costs
Luzerne County, Pa., prison officials argued for years that adding more staff would reduce overtime costs racked up by officers, but that’s not happening, and currently, 15 officers are out on workers’ compensation or family/medical leave. By Jennifer Learn-Andes, Times Leader
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