Quote of the day
"The hate that is coming out this is cancerous."
Mary McDaniel, target of a South Carolina roofer who has accused McDaniel and a contractor of using illegal immigrant laborers on a home construction project
A.M. Best Rates Employers Direct
Ratings bureau A.M. Best Co. assigns a financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a-” to Employers Direct Insurance Company of Agoura Hills. The outlook for both ratings is stable. Workers’ Comp Executive
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Illegal Labor Dispute Boiling Over in South Carolina
The roofer says he’s standing up for honest South Carolina contractors who are losing their businesses because of competitors who hire illegal immigrants. Those targeted by his protests, which have found a home on racist internet message boards, say he’s a “vigilante” who has put their lives in danger. By Noelle Phillips, the State (Columbia, S.C.)
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North Dakota’s WSI Spending Scandal May Have Wider Impact
Questionable spending by North Dakota’s workers’ compensation agency Workforce Safety and Insurance on bonuses, meals and other amenities prompts a state legislative committee to review state agency policies for offering benefits to selected employees. By Dale Wetzel, AP via Forbes
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Unions: Post-Katrina Boom Fertile Ground for Scofflaw Contractors
In New Orleans, trade unions are using “salts” to infiltrate nonunion worksites as part of their efforts to combat an underground, undocumented, cash-only economy of contractors that take advantage illegal workers in the post-Hurricane Katrina construction boom. By Katy Reckdahl, New Orleans Times-Picayune via Houston Chronicle
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Popcorn Workers Deliver Second Legal Blow
Forty-three former and current workers at a Missouri popcorn plant file a second round of lawsuits against manufacturers of butter flavoring that contains diacetyl, which experts link to the potentially fatal lung disease bronchiolitis obliterans. By Greg Grisolano, Joplin Globe
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BrickStreet Pulls Down $25 Million Profit in First Half
West Virginia’s private, employer-owned exclusive workers’ compensation insurer BrickStreet Mutual made a $25.2 million profit in the first six months of 2007. But it’s significantly less than a year ago, reflecting a 10-percent decrease in premiums that became effective July 1, 2006. By George Hohmann, Charleston Daily Mail
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Ad Campaign Backfires Down Under
A multimillion dollar Queensland advertising campaign promoting the federal government’s workplace reforms, including its “superior workers’ compensation scheme,” appears to have backfired: nearly half of survey respondents say the campaign made them feel less positive towards the policies. Sunshine Coast Daily
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