Quote of the day
"I was honestly part of the problem for years. When you live in this jungle, you have to survive in this jungle."
Scott Richards of Spectrum Floors in Manchester, N.H., about the problem of improper classification of employees as independent contractors in order to avoid workers' comp costs
Upstate N.Y. Tannery Owner Charged with Failing to Cover Workers
The 35-year-old owner of a Gloversville, N.Y. tannery is charged with failing to provide workers’ compensation insurance for more than 25 employees, a felony that could land him in prison for four years, New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announces.
Go to the full story in the Albany Times Union
Go to the full story in the Schenectady Daily Gazette
Go to the full story in WRGB-TV (Albany) [with photo] Go to the full story in Business Review (Albany)
Granite State Contractors Push Back Against Scofflaws
Mario Plante owns a New Hampshire contracting company, but he turns to Massachusetts for most of his business. It’s nearly impossible to land a job in the Granite State because too many of his competitors avoid paying workers’ compensation insurance by illegally classifying their employees as independent contractors, which allows them to chop 30 percent off their costs, he contends. By Ashley Smith, Nashua Telegraph
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Blue Hen State Governor Orders Rate Cut
Delaware employers are set to receive an 11.5 percent cut in average workers’ compensation premium rates, effective October 1, after an order by Gov. Matt Denn. By Mellany Armstrong, WDEL (Radio)
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Psychological Pressures Affecting English Police
The 3,500 police officers in Devon and Cornwall, England, took at least 8,163 sick-days last year due to stress, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, dementia, and drug and alcohol problems, according to data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. “Of course officers are trained not to become personally involved in a case, but we are not dealing with robots,” says a police federation official. By Naomi Harris, RedOrbit
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Insurance Agent Nabbed Again in North Carolina
The owner of an insurance agency is arrested again by North Carolina Department of Insurance investigators, who say that after she was arrested two weeks ago, more witnesses came forward and new evidence suggests that she continued to collect premiums for fraudulent workers’ compensation policies.
Go to the full story in the Raleigh News & Observer
Go to the full story in WRAL-TV
Liberty Mutual Sues New York over Workers’ Comp Amendments
Liberty Mutual Holding Co. and several of its subsidiaries file a lawsuit in a New York federal court last week challenging some amendments to New York’s workers’ compensation law that allegedly impair the insurer’s property, contractual and procedural rights. The changes, according to court documents, will require that insurers make lump-sum deposits to the Aggregate Trust Fund to cover types of permanent partial disability benefits.
Go to the full story by Jeff Casale, Business Insurance
Go to the full story in Workforce Management
Sunflower State Seminar in September
The Kansas Department of Labor’s annual Workers Compensation Seminars will be held in two locations, September 8-9 in Overland Park and September 23-24 in Wichita. Thirty-seven experts, including an assistant attorney general and a disciplinary administrator, are expected to discuss a variety of workers’ comp issues and regulations. WIBW-TV
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Nova Scotia WCB Wins Award at Business Competition in Utah
The Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia receives three communications awards during the annual conference of the American Association of State Compensation Insurance Funds, being held in Midway, Utah. The board’s 2007 annual report, “Little Things Matter,” is a first-place winner. Halifax Chronicle Herald
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Keystone State Townships Join to Cover Fire Co.’s Workers’ Comp
After nearly two years of negotiations, Reading Township, Pa. finds another township to contribute to the workers’ compensation insurance costs of a local fire and rescue department. By Melody Asper, Evening Sun (Hanover, Pa.)
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