Quote of the day
"We see rampant misclassification of employees, employees being paid off the books. We think these enhanced fines will be a greater deterrent."
Jeffrey Kolakowski, legislative liaison for the New Jersey labor commissioner, about three bills aimed at improving the state's $1.8 billion workers' compensation insurance system
Three Reform Bills Win Approval in Garden State Senate
Three bills spurred by a series of Newark Star-Ledger articles that illustrated the bureaucracy in which thousands of injured workers are mired, win unanimous New Jersey Senate approval. The measures, which still need approval by the full state assembly, would strip insurance companies of their 90-year monopoly on the panel that helps set workers’ comp premiums, and give judges broad powers to enforce relief orders. By Dunstan McNichol, Newark Star-Ledger [may require registration] Go to the Full Story…
CRM Settlement Leaves New York Employers Looking for Coverage
Hundreds of Empire State employers are shopping for workers’ compensation insurance coverage as a result of Compensation Risk Management LLC agreeing to surrender its license by Sept. 8. Poughkeepsie-based CRM, which administers self-insured plans, reached a settlement to that effect early this month with the New York Workers’ Compensation Board. By Eric Anderson, Albany Times-Union
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Empire State Task Force May Address Defaults
The Healthcare Industry Trust of New York, which is among the largest of seven self-insured trusts that defaulted and were taken over by the state in recent months, had estimated total liabilities of $134 million as of September 2006, according to figures released by the New York WCB. Meanwhile, state government leaders are trying to form a task force to deal with the fallout. By Mary Beth Pfeiffer, Poughkeepsie Journal
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Maine WCB Releases Follow-Up Study
The Workers’ Compensation Board of Maine releases a detailed study of the most costly cases from 1999 to 2003, a follow-up to a previous five-year study, which finds that the average workers’ comp claim for those and the other 100 most expensive cases in recent history is more than $500,000. Among the other surprising findings: 43% of workers had been on the job less than two years before the catastrophic injury, and even though men make up 60% of overall paid injury claims, they made up 80 of the 100 most expensive claims. By Kathryn Skelton, Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine)
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Rhode Island: Former Beacon Exec Testifies to Grand Jury
George Nee, current secretary-treasurer of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO and former director of Beacon Mutual, the state’s dominant workers’ compensation insurer, appears as a witness before a federal grand jury. A year ago, a market conduct exam commissioned by state regulators criticized the company for preferential pricing, its relationships with insurance agents, and political activities including alleged vote-buying. By Mike Stanton, Providence Journal [may require registration] Go to the Full Story…
Manitoba WCB Launches Interactive Youth Safety Initiative
The Workers’ Compensation Board of Manitoba’s new interactive safety initiative is aimed at youth between 15 and 27, particularly males, who are at high risk of injuries in manual labor jobs. One representative tells high schoolers how, as a young worker, he mistakenly mixed two cleaning products at a pizza restaurant, creating chlorine gas, “which they used for chemical warfare in the First World War.” By Simon Fuller, Winnipeg Sun [with photo] Go to the Full Story…
Ohio Sheriff, BWC Team Up to Probe Arrests of Illegal Workers
The Butler County, Ohio sheriff joins with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to investigate possible violations of the law that resulted in the arrests of three suspected illegal immigrants in the past two weeks. Middletown Journal [with audio] Go to the Full Story…
Fort Lauderdale Settles with Injured Firefighter
A retired Fort Lauderdale, Fla., firefighter who was struck on the head by the hood of a fire truck in 2003 will get $60,000 in a settlement of his workers’ compensation claim and lawsuit against the city. South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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