Quote of the day
"If the commissioners believe that this order means for them to keep conducting business as usual, they need to re-read it."
Joel Sawyer, spokesman for South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, regarding a recent order by the governor purportedly restricting workers' comp commissioners' ability to consider individual workers' circumstances in determining lifetime benefit awards
Illegal Worker Gets Extension to Pursue Workers’ Comp Case
The federal government grants a Mexican illegal immigrant a two-week extension of his five-day humanitarian visa to pursue his workers’ compensation claim against his former Rhode Island employer. The 22-year-old worker was deported last year before he was able to pursue his claim for medical bills, permanent disfigurement and weekly benefits. By Karen Lee Ziner, Providence Journal
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South Carolina Commissioners Differ with Governor on Order
The South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission says Gov. Mark Sanford’s Sept. 20 executive order allows them to continue to consider each worker’s circumstance in determining awards for lifelong injuries, while the governor’s office contends the order clearly restricts commissioners’ use of such considerations. The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce estimates the change will save businesses $72 million annually. By Jim DuPlessis, the State (Columbia, S.C.)
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Ohio BWC to Partially Cut Group Discounts
The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation sets 80 percent as the lowest possible cap on group discounts, which vary widely depending on the particular group and types of businesses involved, from the current 90 percent maximum. By Mark Rollenhagen, Cleveland Plain Dealer
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Former Bureau Official Sues for Attorney’s Fees
A former Ohio workers’ compensation official who was interviewed but never implicated in connection with the bureau’s scandal-plagued $50 million rare coin investment says the state Ohio owes him $24,000 in attorney’s fees. By Andrew Welsh-Huggins, Akron Beacon Journal
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‘Fairness’ Concerns Behind North Dakota Ballot Measure
The proposed ballot measure that seeks to bypass a board of directors and return control of North Dakota’s troubled workers’ compensation bureau, Workforce Safety and Insurance, to the state governor, “is needed to restore some fairness,” said the measure’s chairwoman. By Dale Wetzel, AP via Bismarck Tribune
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Aussie Workers’ Comp Scheme Faulted for Unfunded Liabilities
A personal injury lawyer claims South Australia’s WorkCover deliberately allowed its workers’ compensation scheme to deteriorate in order to create an artificial crisis forcing cuts to worker entitlements and medical expense caps. By Greg Kelton, Adelaide Advertiser
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