Quote of the day
"It's a long time coming, and frankly the reason it's coming is because this is a political year."
Art Pulaski, secretary-treasurer of the California Federation of Labor, about Gov. Schwarzenegger's agreement with Democratic lawmakers to boost the state's minimum wage, in addition to supporting unrelated legislation that would allow injured workers to continue to choose their own doctors
Gov Agrees to Raise Minimum Wage, Support Injured Worker Doctor Choice Bill
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reaches an agreement with state Democrats to raise California’s minimum wage by $1.25—25 cents more than the governor originally proposed—to $8 an hour, making it the highest state minimum wage in the nation. Moreover, the governor also has agreed to support a separate bill that would allow injured workers to continue choosing their own workers’ compensation doctors after April of next year.
Go to the full story by Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times
Go to the full story by Matthew Yi, San Francisco Chronicle
TDI Approves Concentra’s Expanded Workers’ Comp Plan
The Texas Department of Insurance approves Concentra Inc.’s new, expanded workers’ compensation health care network across the Lone Star State. Concentra Health Care Network was created in response to the passage of Texas House Bill 7, an insurance regulatory reform bill allowing workers’ comp insurers to contract with and/or form medical networks. Houston Business Journal
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Garden State Pol Charged with Workers’ Comp Fraud
Union County, N.J. prosecutors charge a local Democratic committeeman and former board of education candidate with theft for allegedly continuing to accept $14,000 in weekly workers’ compensation checks intended for his deceased mother. By Karen Koch and Robert Zullo, the Eagle (Cranford/Clark, N.J.)
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Family of Fallen Firefighter Recruit Alleges Culture of Intimidation
The family of a 22-year-old Jacksonville, Fla. firefighter recruit who died of heat stroke nine days after collapsing during a training run plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, alleging that instructors threatened and harassed him and pushed him beyond his limits. A city lawyer says the family already has received workers’ compensation and that Florida law bars their suit. By Bridget Murphy, Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville)
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Michigan Cop Shot on Duty Defends Workers’ Comp Claim
Sergeant Brandon Hutlink, a Battle Creek, Mich. police officer who was ambushed and shot in the hip in a fusillade of automatic weapons fire in 2000, personally responds to a city manager’s recent editorial questioning Hutlink’s injury case. Battle Creek Enquirer [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Hero Firefighter Succumbs to Job-Related Cancer
A 47-year-old Edmonton firefighter who saved the life of a rookie colleague in 2003 dies of cancer, after waging an ultimately successful battle to get full workers’ compensation for his multiple myeloma. He is the fifth city firefighter to die of cancer since the Alberta government passed legislation in 2004 covering nine cancers associated with firefighting. By Brookes Merritt, Edmonton Sun [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Manitoba to Expand Workers’ Comp Coverage
Starting next year, the Canadian province of Manitoba is expanding the number of industries covered by the Workers’ Compensation Board to include outside window cleaning, aviation and air transport, exploration and prospecting, mushroom plants, taxidermy, testing laboratories, land surveying, landscape architecture and design, landscaping and yard maintenance, and property management. About 1,150 more employers and 7,000 new workers will be covered. Canadian Occupational Health and Safety News
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