Quote of the day
"Don't make proud men beg. Just let them live out their lives with a little bit of respect."
Mike Ditka, former National Football League coach and player, testifying to Congress on behalf of a better disability benefits system for retired professional football players
Oregon Cuts 2008 Pure Premium Rate for Second Straight Year
The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services announces that the state’s pure premium rate will drop by 2.3 percent, on average, next year. The reduction marks the second straight year for a rate decrease and the 18th consecutive year with no rate increase, a national record.
Go to the full story in the Portland Oregonian
Go to the full story by Brett Hunsberger, Oregonian
Q&A: Does Self-Employed Contractor Need Workers’ Comp?
Question: I am a self-employed building contractor. The state licensing board recently contacted me and said I need to buy workers’ compensation insurance even though I don’t have any employees and it won’t cover me as the business owner. Is this right? By Ilana DeBare, San Francisco Chronicle [Second Question] Go to the Full Story…
Players Association Asks Congress for Help
Under fire from injured retirees who say they were denied sufficient benefits, Gene Upshaw, director the National Football League Players Association, asks Congress to change federal law so that the union has more power on the retirement board that reviews disability claims. By Mary Clare Jalonick, Miami Herald [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Oklahoma Lawmaker’s Injury May Spur New Legislation
Oklahoma State Rep. Darrell Gilbert, who is confined to a wheelchair after injuring his legs while working at a part-time job to supplement his legislative salary and who receives about $300 a month in partial disability workers’ compensation, says his medical problems have given him some ideas for new legislation that could help disabled individuals. By AP via KJRH-TV (Tulsa)
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Democratic Candidates Promise to Resurrect Ergonomics Rule
Nearly every Democratic White House hopeful is promising to resurrect a similar version of the Clinton administration’s ergonomics rule, which sought to reduce work-related injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers adamantly opposed the rule, claiming it would cost industry billions to comply and that it was impossible for the government to determine which musculoskeletal injuries were work-related. By Jenny Gross, the Hill (Washington, D.C.)
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Could DNA Technology Help Stop Fraudulent Claims?
Two related medical technologies that verify the connection between exposure to toxins and a serious illness hold promise to end fraudulent disability and workers’ compensation claims with the use of employees’ DNA. “It will get rid of all the nuisance and frivolous lawsuits once and for all,” say Dr. Bruce Gillis, a toxicology specialist. By Jeremy Smerd, Workforce.com
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Commentary: Biased Texas Court Decision Promotes Unsafe Workplaces
Had a recent Texas Supreme Court’s ruling come earlier, the victims of the BP explosion in Texas City and their families might not have been able to sue for damages, regardless of BP’s dangerous and careless practices. Now, negligent and unsafe plant owners can call themselves contractors and, by purchasing workers’ compensation, shield themselves from liability for workplace injuries no matter how egregious their conduct. Houston Chronicle
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