Quote of the day
"These kinds of things, in their minds, help them look good."
Colin Craig, Canadian Taxpayers Federation, who says several provincial agencies are wasting millions of dollars on promotional items, despite having no competition
Wyoming Lawmakers Cowboy Up on Workers’ Comp
Wyoming’s Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee meets in Casper to mull over several proposed bills aimed at improving services to injured workers. By Dustin Bleizeffer, Jackson Hole Star-Tribune
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Report: CRM Was Fined Heavily for ‘Poor Performance’
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.-based Compensation Risk Managers LLC reportedly was fined more in a three-year period for paying workers late than the total fines levied against 80 other groups combined. “Nobody came close to CRM’s poor performance,” according to Brian Keegan, spokesman for the state Workers’ Compensation Board. By Mary Beth Pfeiffer, Poughkeepsie Journal [with photo] Go to the Full Story…
Group: Provincial Monopolies Waste Millions in Promotion
Manitoba agencies including the Workers’ Compensation Board needlessly spend millions of dollars to promote their efforts without any threat of competition, a taxpayers group charges. A WCB spokesman says that the giveaway items help spread an important message about the need for safe-work efforts and programs. By Ross Romaniuk, Winnipeg Sun [with photo] Go to the Full Story…
Mississippi AG Probes Electrical Transformer Manufacturer
An Ellisville, Miss.-based electrical transformer manufacturer is contesting $193,000 in fines after Fed-OSHA hands it 54 serious violations at two plants. Further, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood launches an investigation into the company’s hiring practices to determine if it violated a state law requiring employers to check the immigration status of new employees. By Emma James, Clarion-Ledger
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Australia: Work Deaths Fuel Push for Harmonization
Last week, the widow of a worker who was killed when he cutting through a live wire at a shopping center tells her story to a panel established by the Australian government to review occupational health and safety laws. There are nine OH&S systems in Australia; unions are pushing for harmonization of rules and employers have been lobbying federal and state governments for years to adopt a single national system. By Kerry-Anne Walsh, Sydney Morning Herald [with photo] Go to the Full Story…
Alaska Lawmakers Vote to Subpoena 13 People
Alaska legislators voted last week to subpoena witnesses including Gov. Sarah Palin’s husband, Todd, as part of the so-called “Troopergate” inquiry. Steve Branchflower, a retired state prosecutor says someone in the governor’s office might have pushed one of the 13 people on the subpoena list to deny workers’ compensation benefits to state trooper Mike Wooten. By Wesley Loy, Anchorage Daily News
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Reader Responds to AFL-CIO President
“Regarding AFL-CIO President Mark Gaffney’s Aug. 15 column, “Court ruling keeps injured workers from benefits”: The truth with workers compensation is that it has a high rate of fraud. Another truth is that the employee is not taxed for the premiums of this insurance, it is forced on the employer by law and cannot be transferred onto the employee, the premiums are based on payroll, the risk of work the employer has and his track record for incidents.” By Deena Francheski via Detroit News
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BWC Scandal Figure Settles with SEC
Mark Lay, a hedge fund manager serving a 12-year prison sentence for defrauding the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, settles civil charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. FIN alternatives
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