Quote of the day
"The prevailing feeling around here is that what this board has done is simply outrageous."
Charlie Eison, president of the Georgia Home Builders group, about Atlanta-based Builders Insurance, a workers' comp insurer
Garden State Reforms Would Add Criminal Penalties for Noncompliance
New Jersey workers’ compensation judges would get new enforcement powers, employers who fail to purchase coverage would face criminal sanctions, and the insurance industry would lose its monopoly on the panel that helps determine the cost of the policies, under a new six-bill reform package introduced in the New Jersey Senate. By Dunstan McNichol, Newark Star-Ledger [may require registration] Go to the Full Story…
Peach State Builders Accuse Insurer’s Board of Unfair Practices
The Home Builders Association of Georgia launches a campaign to oust the directors of Atlanta-based Builders Insurance, a co-op style workers’ compensation insurer for builders, accusing them of collecting “exorbitant” directors’ fees and operating without transparency. By Carrie Teegardin, Atlanta Journal-Constitution [may require registration] Go to the Full Story…
Buckeye State Eases Workers’ Comp Burden on Maritime Firms
Under provisions recently added to a proposed $1.3 billion state capital budget, at least 75 Ohio maritime employers on Lake Erie and the Ohio River that have been paying double premiums to the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act system, will get a break. Toledo Blade
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Fired Investigator Sues WSI
In potentially the first of several similar lawsuits, a former North Dakota workers’ compensation agency fraud investigator alleges that top officials at the Workforce Safety and Insurance agency illegally schemed to fire him. The agency recently approved a new rate schedule. KFYR-TV (Bismarck)
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Commentary: Hawkeye State Lawmakers Did the Right Thing
Business advocates argue that Iowa’s economy and businesses are positioned to weather a national economic storm, thanks in part to the 2008 Iowa General Assembly’s rejection of “unnecessary” changes to workers’ compensation that had the potential to cause serious delays in proper medical treatment for, and payments to, injured workers. By Kirk Tyler and Mark Ralston via Des Moines Register [may require registration] Go to the Full Story…
Japan: Record Number Compensated for Work-Related Mental Illness
Workers’ compensation for job-related mental illness was awarded to 268 Japan workers in fiscal 2007—a record number, and a 30-percent increase from 2006, according to a Japan Health, Welfare and Labor Ministry survey. Moreover, the number of suicides or attempted suicides due to work stress has doubled since fiscal 2003.
Go to the full story by AP via Yomiuri Shimbun/Daily Yomiuri Online (Japan)
Go to the full story by Mari Yamaguchi, AP via Google
Go to the full story by UPI
Calls for New Workers’ Comp System on Island Nation
Fiji’s workers’ compensation scheme must be reviewed and updated because it is old, but removing the court from the workers’ comp scheme would cause problems for employers, some argue. Fiji Times
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