Quote of the day
"A lot of people want to have a business but don't want the headaches of actually having to employ people."
Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp, explaining the recent growth of "nonemployers"
Welcome to L.A., ‘Nonemployer’ Capital of the U.S.
Los Angeles leads the nation in businesses that become “nonemployers” to avoid the costs of workers’ compensation, paid leave, health insurance and state taxes. The arrangement is booming in California, according to a new Census Bureau report. By Molly Selvin and Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times
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Kern County Board Denies Benefits to Supervisor’s Widow
The Kern County Employees’ Retirement Association board denies disability retirement benefits to the widow of a former supervisor, ruling that the job did not contribute to his death in office at age 52. Becky Peterson previously won a workers’ compensation case against the county, contending that the stress of being a county supervisor contributed to the 2002 death of her husband, who was overweight and had a history of heart problems. By James Burger, Bakersfield Californian [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
State Fund Offers Public Heat Safety Seminars
The California State Compensation Insurance Fund is planning free public seminars on avoiding heat-related illness. Three of the State Fund seminars are planned for the Central Valley: Stockton, Aug. 22; Sacramento, Aug. 23 and Fresno, Sept. 7. Other seminars will be held in Oxnard, Riverside and San Bernardino. Central Valley Business Times
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Widow of Factory Worker Sues Orange County Surf Foam Firm
The widow of a factory worker files a wrongful death suit in Orange County Superior Court against the world’s largest manufacturer of surfboard blanks, alleging that her 36-year-old husband died from long-term exposure to a toxic foam-making chemical. Among other claims, the suit alleges that during lunch breaks, workers at now-shuttered Clark Foam warmed their meals in the same microwave used to heat toluene diisocyanate. By Jennifer Delson, Los Angeles Times
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Editorial: Ohio Supremes’ Ruling an Affront to Open Records Law
The Ohio Supreme Court’s ruling this spring that Gov. Bob Taft had a right to a qualified executive privilege to withhold from disclosure unredacted, yet ultimately trivial, memos of his correspondence with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, was a terrible ruling and a right that the legislature should revoke before a future governor shields damaging information from the public. Cleveland Plain Dealer
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Opinion: Lag in Reporting Lost Computer ‘Outrageous’
It’s bad enough that the security of personal data regarding hundreds of thousands injured New York workers was compromised by Chicago-based CS Stars, the private firm that “lost” a state-owned computer containing the individuals’ workers’ compensation information. That CS Stars failed to report the computer missing for 20 days is outrageous. Journal News (White Plains, N.Y.)
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B.C. Gas Stations Failing to Use Proper Violence Safeguards
At least two-thirds of British Columbia gas stations checked randomly last month by Worksafe B.C., are not complying with provincial safety guidelines to protect employees from violence, including having a “phone buddy” or similar system. By Darrell Bellaart, Nanaimo News Bulletin (British Columbia)
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