Quote of the day
"This worked fine for 50 years. Now they've got to face mandatory training. That gets harder with volunteers. Then there's a liability issue. These problems are not unique to Mendocino."
Al Beltrami, Mendocino County CEO, on supervisors' vote to divert $326,000 to county fire districts for workers comp; Beltrami says finding volunteer firefighters was easier before stricter certification guidelines
Mendocino Allocates Workers’ Comp Funds to Firefighters
The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors votes to divert $326,000 to county fire districts to cover workers’ compensation costs. By Rob Burgess, Ukiah Daily Journal
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After Beating, New York Teacher Fights Workers’ Comp Denial
As a Buffalo, N.Y. teacher remains on sick leave, appealing a ruling that denies her workers’ compensation benefits for injures she suffered in a horrific attack by a former student near the school, a judge sentences the teenage attacker to five years in prison. The workers’ comp judge blamed the teacher for not parking on school grounds, despite evidence that the school parking lot had too few spaces to accommodate all teacher cars. By Matt Gryta, Buffalo News [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Granite State Law to Eliminate Exemption
A New Hampshire law that requires corporate officers who are “actively engaged in on-site work on any construction site” to carry workers’ compensation insurance is puzzling insurance agents and small contractors. Home builders and renovators will be particularly affected by the new law, which takes effect mid-month. New Hampshire Business Review
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Arraignments Scheduled for North Dakota WSI Execs
October 1, 2007, is the date two North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance executives can enter their pleas on charges that they conspired to disclose confidential information in trying to determine who e-mailed agency salary information to employees. By AP via KXMC (Minot, N.D.) [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Vermont Court: Crash Victims Must Repay Workers’ Comp Insurer
Citing issues of double recovery, the Vermont Supreme Court rules that the victims of a fatal 2003 motor vehicle crash must reimburse their worker’s compensation provider. By Mike Gleason, Bennington Banner
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Empire State WCB Lowers Boom on Repeat Violator
New York’s workers’ compensation board orders an upstate tree services owner to shut down for lack of workers’ compensation insurance. He carried no workers’ comp when one of his employees was injured on the job in 2005; in 1999 under a similarly named company, he didn’t have insurance when an employee was injured. By Raja Abdulrahim, Times-Record (Middletown, N.Y.)
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Judge: Prison Too ‘Extreme’ for Heroin-Abusing WCB Embezzler
A drug-addicted Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board case manager who embezzled nearly $1.2 million USD to support his drug habit and now cannot work due to physical and mental disabilities likely related to accidental overdoses, avoids prison when a judge agrees that nature has already imprisoned him. By Tony Blais, Edmonton Sun
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South Australians Get Another Chance at Benefits
Under new regulations, some South Australians who were denied workers’ compensation payments in the past due to conflict of laws between states now can apply for special payments. The regs put in place nationally consistent legislation ensuring that each worker is covered by one scheme only. By Greg Kelton, Adelaide Advertiser
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Officials Look Forward to Competition in Mountain State
When West Virginia’s workers’ compensation insurance market opens to competition next July, employers are likely to see a number of companies offer high-deductible plans and some may offer packages that allow employers to buy all liability insurance from a single carrier, West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline predicts. By George Hohmann, Charleston Daily Mail
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