Quote of the day
"Change is good, and it's about time for the state to start changing after years of status quo."
Steve Watanabe, president of the Electrical Contractors Association of Hawaii, about an alternative workers' comp contract with the IBEW
S.D. Roofer Ordered to Pay $119,000 in Restitution to State Fund
The 43-year-old owner of a San Diego roofing business must pay $119,000 in restitution to the State Compensation Insurance Fund after pleading guilty to workers’ compensation insurance fraud. Workers’ Comp Executive
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IBEW, Electrical Contractors of Hawaii Ink New Alternative Pact
Drawing praise both from the governor and the state labor department director, a Honolulu chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers agrees with the Electrical Contractors Association of Hawaii to use the so-called Collectively Bargained Workers’ Compensation Agreement. The agreement is expected to expedite return-to-work rates and cut premiums.
Go to the full story by Stewart Yerton, Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Go to the full story in the Pacific Business News
BrickStreet to Create PPO for Injured Workers
West Virginia’s BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co., the state’s private workers’ compensation insurer, announces plans to create StreetSelect, a preferred provider organization to treat injured workers in non-emergency situations. By Paul J. Nyden, Charleston Gazette
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Special Report: Throwaway Workers in the Shadow Economy
Required reading: part one and part two of the Chicago Tribune’s recent series on the workplace hazards faced by illegal aliens, the difficulties they face in collecting any kind of compensation for injuries, and the cost to taxpayers of the “shadow economy” they inhabit. By Steven Franklin and Darnell Little, Chicago Tribune
Opinion: Lawyers Stand to Collect Obscene Fee
The approximately 40,000 firefighters, police, construction workers and other Ground Zero responders will someday split—if they are lucky—about $600 million for their illnesses, while a few dozen attorneys stand to collect $400 million. There’s a more equitable way to compensate those who sacrificed their health and lives in the World Trade Center recovery effort. New York Daily News [With Photos] Go to the Full Story…
Study Seeks to Reel In Montana’s High Comp Costs
The Montana Department of Labor and Industry is continuing its Workers’ Compensation Study Project, in an effort to quantify and eventually improve Montana’s relatively expensive workers’ comp system. Great Falls Tribune
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Workers’ Comp Cost-Cutting Tips for Hospitality Industry
An expert discusses tactics and strategies for managers in the hospitality industry which, if implemented aggressively, can lead to a safer work environment and a reduction of employee accidents, workers’ compensation claims, and expenses. By Jack Turesky, Hospitality Net
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