Quote of the day
"I was sent to Sacramento to protect businesses, and that's why the first thing I did when I came into office was, we reformed workers' compensation. We went in there and we reformed the system, but a radical reform. And now, as I have said, we are putting $14 billion back into the economy because we reduced the workers' comp costs by 50 percent, and like I said, another 16 percent is coming."
Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Commentary: Workers’ Comp Rollback Unlikely
Although Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has drifted to the left on the environment, the budget, health care and some other issues, he constantly trumpets employers’ multibillion-dollar savings in the workers’ compensation system as a result of the 2004 overhaul. Despite pressure from labor unions, medical care providers and workers’ comp attorneys, the legislature has been reluctant to roll back the 2004 changes. By Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee
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Audit of Connecticut Treasurer Targets Settlements
An audit of Connecticut’s state treasurer’s office for fiscal year 2005 makes four recommendations involving the state’s second injury fund, particularly with respect to the treasurer’s involvement with the Workers’ Compensation Commission in certain settlements with injured workers. The audit also says the fund needs better financial controls. By Sean O’Leary, Hartford Business Journal [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Another Rate Cut in West Virginia
On top of the 15 percent aggregate reduction in workers’ compensation rates in January 2006, which came when the West Virginia workers’ compensation system transitioned from a state agency to BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co., and a 10 percent aggregate reduction about a year ago, the state’s insurance commissioner says there will be an aggregate 2 percent reduction in workers’ comp rates in July. However, employers will see a regulatory surcharge and a debt-reduction surcharge on their invoices. Charleston Gazette
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Ohio BWC Director Vows to Rectify Slow Payments
Ohio officials admit that until last week the state did not begin recalculating benefits due to 1,954 workers who were injured while on welfare jobs, despite a December court ruling requiring it. Calling the lapse unacceptable, the new director of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation says the agency should have been ready to make the new calculations in March. By Andrew Welsh-Huggins, AP via Akron Beacon Journal
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South Carolina’s Reforms Expected to Be Finalized This Week
When South Carolina legislators go to work in a special session this week, finalizing business-friendly changes to the state’s outdated workers’ compensation system will be at the top of their to-do list. By Heidi Cenac, Anderson Independent Mail
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Mine Flood Survivor Describes Ordeal, Frustrating Aftermath
Within days of surviving a flash-flooded Saskatchewan uranium mine last October, a miner and father of five was laid off along with about 100 other contract workers. He now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and barely scrapes by after the denial of his application for workers’ compensation benefits. By Graham Andrews, Saskatoon StarPhoenix [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…