Quote of the day
"I've said from the very beginning, I was just trying to help out a constituent whose premiums had more than doubled by tens of thousands of dollars."
Ohio State Sen. Kirk Schuring, after a state inspector general investigation concludes that he did not use undue influence to get the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation to lower premiums for local employers
NASI: California Bucked Rising Costs Trend in 2005
Outlays to cover workers’ compensation claims fell 12.2 percent in California in 2005 but rose 1.7 percent in the rest of the nation, according to a new report by the National Academy of Social Insurance. By Tom Abate, San Francisco Chronicle
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State Fund Seminar to Highlight Dangers of Gas & Electric Lines
State Compensation Insurance Fund and the California Utility Public Safety Alliance are sponsoring a safety seminar about the dangers of working near overhead and underground utilities including gas and electrical lines, September 6 in Oxnard. Workers’ Comp Executive
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Former Officer Cops to Workers’ Comp Fraud
An Amador County judge orders a 36-year-old former officer at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad to pay nearly $113,000 in restitution after he pleads guilty to workers’ compensation fraud. The amount includes nearly $50,000 in payback to State Fund. Salinas Californian
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Ohio AG Finds No Corruption in Workers’ Comp Rate Cuts
The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation system unilaterally approved premium-rate reductions for certain employers without proper criteria, policies and documentation, but it did nothing improper, the Ohio Inspector General concludes. According to its report, of 80 legislative inquiries, nine resulted in premium overrides, but no bureau employee reported pressure to lower an employer’s premium rate.
Go to the full story in the Akron Beacon Journal
Go to the full story by Paul E. Kostyu, Canton Repository
Go to the full story by Mark Rollenhagen, Cleveland Plain Dealer
Go to the full story by Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch
Maryland City Continues to Cut Workers’ Comp Costs Dramatically
The city of Cumberland, Md., reduced its workers’ compensation claim payments by nearly $500,000 between 2006 and 2007, according to a report. If the tentative figures hold, it will be the lowest amount of claim dollars since fiscal 2002. By Tai Shadrick, Cumberland Times-News
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NFIB Urges Missouri High Court to Rule 2005 Reform Constitutional
The Missouri Supreme Court will decide this fall if amendments to the state’s workers’ compensation system approved by the state legislature in 2005 are constitutional. The nonprofit National Federation of Independent Business Legal Foundation says it has filed an amicus brief urging the court to uphold the amendment. St. Louis Business Journal
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Potential Class Action Seeks Greater Beacon Payout
A group of Beacon Mutual Insurance Co. workers’ compensation policyholders are attempting a class action lawsuit to block a $7 million refund plan, contending a jury should decide how much the firm should pay back for allegedly giving price breaks to preferred clients, hiring lawmakers to gain political support and spending lavishly on golf trips and executive perks. Turn to 10 (Providence – New Bedford)
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