Quote of the day
"He makes sexual comments about people's breasts and says things of a sexual nature to most of the women in the department."
Margherita C. Fanti, who has filed a successful sexual harassment claim against Joseph Murphy, her supervisor, as an employee of Erie County, N.Y.
Go to the full story in the Buffalo News
Washington State: Scoundrel Country
A class action lawsuit that attempts to restrict the amount of money the Building Industry Association of Washington spends on political campaigns is not the first assault on BIAW. In 2000, the state labor department altered workers’ comp rules specifically to cap what BIAW could earn for political campaigns. Unions and liberals speak about the need to “de-fund” the BIAW, and now they’re siccing the state’s courts on the group.
Wall Street Journal [may require registration] Go to the full story in the Olympian
Monterey County Gas Station Owner Admits Fraud
A Salinas gas station owner pleads guilty in Monterey County Superior Court today to a misdemeanor count of violating the labor code by failing to secure workers’ compensation insurance. Salinas Californian
Go to the Full Story…
Erie County Settles Sex Harassment Workers’ Comp Claim
Erie County, N.Y., will pay at least $50,000 to settle a claim by a woman who trained county employees in policies against sexual harassment. The payment settles the workers’ compensation claim she filed when she stated she could no longer work due to sexual harassment by her supervisor. By Matthew Spina, Buffalo News
Go to the Full Story…
Florida’s Summit Holdings to Lay Off 80
Summit Holdings, a workers’ compensation insurance company based in Lakeland, Fla., will eliminate about 80 positions in the coming months. The causes of the layoffs are both reductions in the cost of workers’ comp insurance to employers and a struggling economy that has resulted in layoffs in a number of other industries. By Rachel Pleasant, Lakeland Ledger
Go to the Full Story…
Utah Mine Fights Workers’ Comp Claim
The Crandall Canyon mining company is fighting a claim for workers compensation benefits from the family of one of the six miners who died in the initial cave-in last year. By Rachelle Killpack, KCSG-TV (St. George)
Go to the Full Story…
Minnesota Commissioner Notes Ills of Workers’ Comp System
Commissioner Steve Sviggum of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry tours the state to tout his plan to reform workers’ compensation in Minnesota, with an eye toward passing new legislation during the 2009 session. He notes a number of ills in the system, including bills that remain unpaid for long periods of time, bills that are sent directly to the injured worker rather than the insurer, some of which contain threats of legal action, and the “ping pong” effect of claims that are sent back and forth between insurance providers, employers and health care providers with no apparent progress. TMC.net
Go to the Full Story…