Quote of the day
'Independent consultants, a citizens' group and a City Club committee have all concluded that Portland's police and fire disability system should be under workers' compensation. But the unions are opposed ... members like the "predictability" of the current system. And it is predictable: Disability claims are almost never turned down."
Editorial, the Oregonian
Jockeys Guild Says Bill Is a Loser
The chairman of the Jockeys’ Guild says his organization actively opposes a bill introduced in the Louisiana legislature that would prohibit jockeys, who in Louisiana already are exempted from workers’ compensation coverage, from suing for damages when they are injured due to the negligence of race tracks or trainers. By AP via KLFY-TV (Lafayette, La.)
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Commentary: Portland Public Safety Disability System Disgraceful
Portland’s tax-guzzling Fire and Police Disability and Retirement system involves a $15 million-a-year disability disgrace and a $1.6 billion pension nightmare. Unfortunately, proposed reforms will not move the city’s newly disabled police officers and firefighters, who go out on disability at four times the rate of their counterparts statewide, into the state’s workers’ compensation program. The Oregonian
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Commentary: Mountain State Finally on the Right Road
It was economically suicidal to let West Virginia’s unprofessional workers’ compensation system linger for so long, but by finally increasing its job classifications from 94 to 470, the state will have a chance at improving its economy. Charleston Daily Mail
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Ohio: Judge Sets Date for Coin Dealer’s Plea Change
A federal judge sets May 31 as the day for once-prominent GOP contributor and coin dealer Tom Noe to change his not-guilty plea in his campaign finance criminal case. However, there is no indication that a guilty plea in the federal case will affect the 53 felony charges that he faces in connection with the alleged theft or laundering of more than $3 million from two rare coin funds that Noe operated on behalf of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. By Mike Wilkinson, Toledo Blade [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Commentary: Judge Slams British Columbia Workers’ Comp Board
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge rules that the province’s Workers Compensation Board acted in a “patently unreasonable” manner dealing with a 75-year-old former mill worker suffering from lung disease. The case is a prime example of what’s wrong in the system: the agencies see their role as cost containment at the expense of injured workers. By Ian Mulgrew, Vancouver Sun
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Self-Insured Texas County Sees ‘Huge Savings’
Hidalgo County, Texas’ workers’ compensation claims and costs have continued to decrease since officials chose to self-insure in 2003. How did they accomplish it? By Victoria Hirschberg, McAllen Monitor
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Small Biz Health Insurance Pool Proposal Ignites Fight
A Republican-sponsored Senate proposal to allow small businesses in different states to pool their bargaining power to negotiate cheaper employee health insurance has turned into a political brawl between small employers and influential health groups including the AARP and the American Cancer Society. By Robert Dodge, Dallas Morning News via Cape Cod Times
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Health Workers Most Likely to File Violence-Related Comp Claims
Canada’s health care workers are anywhere from five to 12 times more likely to file a worker’s compensation claim for violence than workers in any other industry, CBC Radio News reports. By CP via Edmonton Sun
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