Quote of the day
"I really don't see a downside to having a comprehensive, specific standard on combustible dust. I'm not sure I follow the arguments against it, and I don't understand why OSHA would be against it."
John Sheptor, CEO of Texas-based Imperial Sugar
Constitution State Woman Charged with Fraud
A Roxbury, Conn. woman faces a possible 20-year prison term after being charged with one count of workers’ compensation fraud. Authorities say she collected more than $200,000 in wage and medical benefits since suffering a work-related injury in 1988. WFSB-TV (Hartford)
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Maryland Court: Vocational Expert’s Testimony Not Required
Testimony from a vocational expert is not required in an appeal of a Workers’ Compensation Committee award, the Maryland Court of Appeals rules in upholding the reduction of an award to an injured airline employee. By Danny Jacobs, RedOrbit
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Florida Court Ruling Could Boost Workers’ Comp Rates
The lower workers’ compensation premiums Florida employers have enjoyed for the last five years could become a thing of the past, depending on whether the Florida Supreme Court reverses a 2003 law. Orlando Business Journal [subscription required] Go to the Full Story…
Imperial Sugar Exec Says He Warned Top Brass Before Blast
An Imperial Sugar executive testifies to a Senate panel that he warned his superiors of “shocking” and “disgraceful” conditions, and about the likelihood of a fatal incident, a month before the company’s Georgia refinery exploded, killing 13 workers and injuring dozens more in early February.
Go to the full story by Ben Evans, Associated Press
Go to the full story by Matthew Zimmerman, ABC News
Nevada High Court: Work Injury-Related Suicide Compensable
A suicide sufficiently connected to an industrial injury is compensable under Nevada’s workers’ compensation system, the state’s highest court rules. The decision stems from a back injury that a bartender experienced when he slipped on a flight of stairs, causing disc derangements in his spine. Workforce Management
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Q&A: Insurance and Social Security
Question: have been disabled for more than 20 years and would like to sell my life insurance policy. I would like to know if that would affect my Social Security Disability payments. Press of Atlantic City
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Ohio Legislator Discusses Cutting Red Tape
Republican Ohio State Sen. Larry Mumper writes that he and his colleagues consistently hear from employers about various hurdles that make doing business in the state difficult, including high workers’ compensation premiums. By Larry Mumper via Bucyrus Telegraph
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