Quote of the day
“Hanford workers do incredibly important work cleaning up the federal government’s nuclear program. If they get sick as a result, they deserve the ability to access the benefits they have earned.”
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson
Feds appeal Hanford workers’ court ruling
The federal government is appealing a court ruling that upheld a new Washington state law that makes it easier for ill Hanford Nuclear Reservation workers to get state workers’ compensation. The Department of Justice had filed suit against the state claiming the law attempted to regulate the federal government and discriminated against it with heightened liability for workers’ compensation. Tri-City Herald
Arizona fireman’s cancer claim sparks dispute between city and state senator
A workers’ compensation claim by a Glendale, Arizona fireman, who was diagnosed in April with multiple myeloma, has been turned down by the city, even though a state law passed in 2017 allows for firefighters with specific types of cancers to get compensation for treatment. A state senator who crafted the law is joining the fireman to pressure the city over the claim. There are at least nine cases in the state of firefighter claims being denied by local municipalities. AZ Mirror
New York correctional officer resigns after admitting to workers’ comp theft
A 29-year-old state corrections officer has admitted to stealing over $6,400 in workers’ compensation, according to the New York State Inspector General. Investigators found the defendant repeatedly submitted forged workers’ compensation leave forms for doctor visits that did not occur. WIVB (Buffalo, N.Y.)
OFF TOPIC
Journalists win attorneys’ fees after FBI records fight
A federal appeals court reversed a district court and ruled this week that a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and a publicist who sued for access to records about the Federal Bureau of Investigation are entitled to attorneys’ fees. The two had submitted a series of records requests to the New Jersey Institute of Technology under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act. The FBI directed the institute to withhold most of the records, a majority of which reportedly originated with the bureau. Bloomberg Law Big Law Business