Quote of the day
"It wasn't a private thing at all. There were a number of people around. We sat where they put us. We didn't have a special arrangement."
Bruce Furness, Workforce Safety and Insurance's interim chief executive responding to implications by the former WSI chief of support services that the board violated North Dakota open meetings law
WSI Declares $77 Million Dividend
The board of North Dakota workers compensation insurer Workforce Safety and Insurance votes to declare a dividend of $77 million that will go to more than 14,000 North Dakota employers. According to board chairman Mark Gjovig, the WSI’s reserves are larger than they should be.
Go to the full story by Dale Wetzel, AP via Fargo Forum [may require registration] Go to the full story in KVLY/KXJB-TV (Fargo)
Former WSI Exec Asks Atty. Gen. to Investigate ‘Secret’ Meetings
“They are breaking the sunshine laws,” says Jim Long, the former chief of support services of Workforce Safety and Insurance, who claims he walked in on an illegal meeting of agency board members, and has asked the state attorney general to investigate. Bruce Furness, the agency’s interim chief executive, responds that any violation of state open meetings law was accidental.
Go to the full story by Dale Wetzel, AP via Jamestown Sun
Go to the full story by AP via KXMB-TV (Bismarck/Mandan) [with photo]
State Officials Shutter Las Cruces Business
The New Mexico Workers’ Compensation Administration shuts down a Las Cruces business for allegedly failing to comply with workers’ compensation obligations. The agency says the owner told officials he was not paying insurance because he was closing down and no longer had employees, but a later check found the business still operating. By AP via Las Cruces Sun-News
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CRM Inks Five-Year Extension of Management Contract
Compensation Risk Managers of California LLC has signed a five-year contract extension to manage workers’ compensation insurance for a large self-insured group, its parent company CRM Holdings Inc. announces. The Contractors Access Program of California Inc. is one of several self-insured groups in the state that employs CRM. By Craig Wolf, Poughkeepsie Journal
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North Star State Groups Push for Reform Bill
In Minnesota, a handful of groups studying potential reforms to the state’s $1.7 billion system are expected to make their recommendations by this fall to the state’s Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council. According to Steve Sviggum, commissioner of the state Department of Labor and Industry, improving return-to-work rates and simplifying the way medical providers are paid are areas of focus. By Anne Polta, West Central Tribune (Willmar, Minn.) [with photo] [may require registration] Go to the Full Story…
Foreign Widow Overcomes Fraud Attempts
A Chinese woman whose husband died in a tank collapse in northern Alberta and who reported never receiving about $37,000 in compensation, has finally received the first of her survivor benefit checks from the provincial Workers’ Compensation Board. Someone cashed the checks, which were mailed to her previous address, and it took the board about a year to discover the fraud. By Elise Stolte, Edmonton Journal
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Tri-City Employers Have Free Workers’ Comp Resource July 1
Small business owners in Washington’s Tri-City area who want to control workers’ compensation insurance costs can attend a free presentation July 1 in Walla Walla, Wash., to learn about various ways to promote workplace safety and aid injured workers recover from job-related injuries. By Pratik Joshi, Tri-City Herald (Kennewick – Pasco – Richland, Wash.)
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Bay State City Settles Case for $45K
Melrose, Mass., city officials approve spending $45,000 to settle a workers’ compensation case. By Daniel DeMaina, Melrose Free Press via WickedLocal.com
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