Quote of the day
"Much of the email traffic was related to these activities and took place during regular work hours."
Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles, about an Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation customer service assistant who allegedly used his state phone and computer to do business for a theater group on state time
Montana State Fund Announces Modest Rate Cut
The board of the Montana State Fund has announced that workers’ compensation insurance rates will be reduced next year by an average of 3 percent, making the second straight year the agency has announced modest cuts.
Go to the full story by AP via KULR-TV (Billings)
Go to the full story by AP via KXMC-TV (Minot, N.D.)
Go to the full story by AP via Houston Chronicle
‘More Drama’ for Ohio BWC
An employee of the scandal-ridden Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation is accused of using state time and equipment to coordinate auditions and other work for a local theater group. By Jim Otte, WHIO-TV
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New York State Worker Nabbed for Suspected Workers’ Comp Fraud
A 51-year-old New York Office of Children and Family Services employee, who claimed he was injured in a purported elevator accident and was too disabled to work his day job a Brooklyn residential center, is charged with allegedly continuing to pick up benefits while working a second full-time job at a postal processing and delivery facility.
Go to the full story in the North Country Gazette
Go to the full story in the Empire State News
Empire State Honors Attorney for Reform Efforts
A Rochester, N.Y. attorney is one of five recipients of the annual Clara Lemlich Public Service Award for his efforts in workers’ compensation reform and improved occupational safety in the state. Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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Former Steelworkers Head to Ontario Clinic for Help
Frustrated by a claim denial by the Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia based on his having been a smoker 22 years ago, a 76-year-old retired steelworker flies to a Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. occupational health clinic that focuses on employee exposures to toxic chemicals and substances. He is among more than 150 current and former employees, or surviving relatives of deceased steelworkers, who registered for a two-day occupational disease intake clinic. By Dan Bellerose, Sault Star (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.)
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New Online Tool Part of D.C. Agency’s ‘Green’ Efforts
The D.C. Department of Employment Services launches a new online tool intended to make it easier to find the status of workers’ compensation decisions. The database is part of an effort to reduce paper consumption. Washington Post [first item] [may require registration] Go to the Full Story…
In Canada, Special Week Offers Sobering Reminder
North American Occupational Safety and Health Week serves as a reminder that Canada is among the most dangerous industrialized countries in which to work, according to recent UN International Labour Organization data. It used to be possible for a company to have a fatality and still receive a rebate on workers’ compensation fees paid to the Workplace Safety Insurance Board; however, Ontario recently changed the rules. By David Hamiton, Financial Post
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AmerisourceBergen Says It Won’t Sell of PMSI
AmerisourceBergen Corp. decides to end its effort to sell PMSI, which provides mail order and online pharmacy services to chronically and catastrophically ill patients under workers’ compensation programs, in addition to pharmaceutical claims administration services for payors and a fully integrated Medicare set-aside program. PMSI had been on the block since January, but final bids did not reflect its fair value, according to AmerisourceBergen. Philadelphia Business Journal
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