Quote of the day
"A strong economy and tougher compliance efforts have generated significant premium growth, making these reductions to the workers' compensation trust fund assessment rate possible."
Florida chief financial officer Alex Sink
Sunshine State Employers Get Good News from CFO
Florida’s chief financial officer Alex Sink orders a 50-percent cut in the 2008 Workers’ Compensation Administration Trust Fund assessment rate. The order requires an assessment rate reduction from .5 of a percent to .25 of a percent of assessable workers’ comp premiums.
Go to the full story by Harry Wessel, Orlando Sentinel
Go to the full story by Steve Liner, Tallahassee Democrat
Go to the full story in the South Florida Business Journal
Hawaii Chamber Weighs in on Workers’ Comp Bills
The Hawaii Chamber of Commerce is urging members to lobby Gov. Linda Lingle to veto two bills and ask legislators not to override those vetoes. Senate Bill 1060 sets up new rules for workers’ compensation disputes that the chamber has said creates an economic incentive to stay off work while reducing employers’ remedies; House Bill 855 prevents interruption of payments for treatments even when a doctor has cleared a worker to return to work. Pacific Business News (Honolulu)
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Mountain State Insurer Makes First Payment on Loan
BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. has made the first scheduled payment on the $200 million start-up loan it received from the state of West Virginia. The loan now stands at $185 million, with the next payment, $40 million plus interest and with adjustments, is due June 30, 2008.
Go to the full story by George Hohmann, Charleston Daily Mail
Go to the full story by AP via Houston Chronicle
Comcare Changes Chafe Aussie Public Workers
Public servants in Australia no longer may claim damages for accidents on the way to work or during lunch breaks, and claims for stress now face tougher guidelines, as part of the parliament’s plan to cut costs and attract private companies to Comcare, the federal public service workers’ compensation scheme. Public sector workers are said to be “overwhelmingly angry” about the changes. By Annabel Crabb, Sydney Morning Herald
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Board Deems Bay State Guard’s Emotional Problems Work-Related
In a case of first impression, a Massachusetts corrections officer accused by prisoners of throwing feces in the cell of a notorious pedophile priest can collect workers’ compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder because his emotional problems are work-related, the Department of Industrial Accidents Reviewing Board rules. By David Frank, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
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Former Oversight Board Member Charged in BWC Scandal
A former member of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s oversight commission stands accused of accepting inappropriate meals, flights and other gifts. George Forbes, president of the Cleveland NAACP and prominent Ohio Democrat, accepted entertainment and other items of value from investment marketers, the Ohio Ethics Commission contends. By John McCarthy, AP via Akron Beacon Journal
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