Quote of the day
"This is a pretty significant development for us. ... This is certainly a magnitude that we wouldn't have expected."
Mary Beth Woods, the New York Workers Compensation Board director of licensing for self-insured trusts, about the possibility of pulling CRM's license as a third-party administrator
Trust Collapse May Be Unprecedented in the Empire State
The collapse of a group of workers’ compensation self-insurance trusts run by Poughkeepsie, N.Y.-based Compensation Risk Managers LLC is the most extreme such breakdown the field has seen in New York, according to state and industry officials. The New York Workers Compensation Board has threatened to pull CRM’s license as a third-party administrator of trusts. By Craig Wolf, Poughkeepsie Journal
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Boomers Don’t Understand Public Disability Programs: Survey
Baby boomers are in the dark about public disability income programs such as Social Security disability insurance and worker’s compensation, according to a recent survey by America’s Health Insurance Plans of Washington. Thirty-six percent did not know how much of their income workers’ comp benefits would replace, and one in five overestimated benefits. By Lisa Shidler, InvestmentNews.com
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Civilian Injuries Overwhelm Federal Workers’ Comp Program
The House Armed Services Committee said in a report released last month that the government is not doing enough to help civilian employees who have been injured in their deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Injuries to civilian employees are covered by the Labor Department’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, which the committee says is overwhelmed with such workers. OhMyGov.com
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Buckeye State Paid Nearly $2M to Get Back $5M
The state of Ohio paid nearly $1.84 million to pursue a civil lawsuit against Mark D. Lay, who agreed to pay $5 million to resolve the case stemming from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation investment scandal. Lay’s company, Pittsburgh-based MDL Capital Management, managed an offshore hedge fund for the BWC that lost $216 million before it was shut down. By Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch [with photo] Go to the Full Story…
BBC Faces Possible Lawsuit in Harassed Employee’s Suicide
The family of a senior BBC executive who committed suicide after she was “demonized” by her managers say they may sue the corporation. By Caroline Gammell, Telegraph (U.K.) [with photo] Go to the Full Story…
Lawsuit Spurred by Disaster Barred by Workers’ Comp, BP Contends
BP, which has settled 95 percent of claims relating to the March 2005 Texas City refinery disaster, may face an employee lawsuit that the company claims is barred by state workers’ compensation law. Calgary Herald
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When Must an Oregon Employer Reinstate an Injured Worker?
A representative of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries Technical Assistance for Employers unit addresses inquiries from employers regarding their responsibilities for reinstating injured workers. By Jamie Carlton, Register-Guard (Eugene)
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Mountain State Legislators Consider PEO Emergency Rule
West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline tells a legislative committee that her office intends to file an emergency workers’ compensation rule governing professional employer organizations with the secretary of state’s office next month. By Mannix Porterfield, Beckley Register-Herald
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Premiums One Problem for Volunteer West Virginia Firefighters
In West Virginia, workers’ compensation premiums for volunteer fire units are going up at the same time the departments, which largely serve rural areas, have fewer funds to pay them. State legislators are responding with a committee that will look into the problems facing volunteer fire departments. By Mannix Porterfield, Beckley Register-Herald
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