- NJ Legislators Want to Give Workers' Comp Laws 'More Teeth'
New Jersey lawmakers are calling to reform the state's workers' compensation system to cut down on delays in paying benefits.Among the most interesting provisions of the proposed workers' compensation reform package would be to give judges and state officials "more power to punish employers and insurers that don't play by the rules," according to an article in the Star-Ledger.
"I would support giving more teeth to the workers' compensation judges when it comes to imposing sanctions on insurance companies for non-compliance," Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), the committee chairman, said after a special hearing yesterday. "There can be no tolerance of foot-dragging by insurance companies in making payments to workers."
Tags: workers' compensation reform, New Jersey workers' compensation, injured workers
- Teenager dies on construction job in Massachusetts
A new report on unsafe working conditions in Massachusetts includes the heartbreaking story of a 17-year-old man who fell to his death during a roofing job last August.The report, entitled Dying for Work in Massachusetts, was compiled to highlight workplace safety issues in the state. The report's authors found that immigrants accounted for 20 percent of workplace fatalities (16 of 80 workplace deaths) in 2007. The total number of deaths was the highest since 2003.
Immigrants account for just under 17 percent of the state's total workforce. The report's authors say immigrants often work in poor, unsafe conditions, plus they may not receive proper safety information because they do not speak English.
Commercial fishing, traditionally the most dangerous occupation in the country, claimed the most lives, according to the report.
"It is an absolute outrage that in this day and age, we have such a high number of lives lost on the job," said Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Robert J. Haynes.
The report highlighted the death of Benedelson Ovalle Chavez, a 17-year-old immigrant from Guatemala who was working as a roofer despite having no training for the job and despite receiving no safety training. Chavez fell 20 feet to his death while working on the roof of a Salem, Mass., church.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined Chavez's employer, B.C. Construction, $22,400 for, among other violations, a repeat violation of fall protection requirements. The general contractor, Olympic Painting and Roofing Co. a firm with a long history of labor and safety violations, remains free of any charges, according to Tim Sullivan of the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH), which released the report along with the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.
Union organizer Rosa Blumenfeld said that many employers consider OSHA fines to be a routine part of doing business. Of all workplace deaths in Massachusetts last year, 12 cases were settled. Together, the cases had an average final penalty assessed at $5,383 per death," she said. Jeffrey Crosby, president of the Lynn-based North Shore Labor Council, said federal funding has been cut and "de-fanged OSHA" so that the agency has less ability to inspect potentially dangerous worksites and enforce its mandates.
"We may never get to zero deaths, but we have to reverse this trend. If you're good enough to work for somebody, you're good enough to work safely. Chavez shouldn't have been doing that job," Crosby said. "Some of the protections we took for granted go back to the New Deal and they are disappearing."
Blumenfeld said it would take OSHA 121 years to inspect every jobsite in Massachusetts.
- Insurers Begin Battle for W. Va. Workers' Comp Business
West Virginia is preparing for a battle over workers' compensation coverage this summer. On July 1, the state will begin allowing companies other than BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Company to provide workers' compensation insurance for businesses in the state.But dozens of companies interested in entering the market have attended open market forums sponsored by the state Insurance Commission. More than 20 companies that have not previously offered insurance in West Virginia have been licensed to write workers' compensation coverage.
At least one company - Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. - is already visiting employers, seeking their business and offering quotes.
It will be interesting to see what this increased competition does to workers' compensation insurance rates in West Virginia.
Tags: West Virginia workers' compensation insurance; BrickStreet; injured workers, workers' comp
SOURCE: http://sundaygazettemail.com
- Man Who Failed to Report Low-Paying Job Convicted of Workers' Comp Fraud
Workers' compensation fraud by employees is very rare. Most independent studies indicate that only 1 percent of workers' compensation fraud is committed by employees; employers who misclassify employees as independent contractors, lie about the number of people they employ or fail to carry workers' compensation insurance are responsible for most fraud.But here's a story about a man who was convicted of collecting workers' compensation benefits that the court determined he was not entitled. However, it seems that his only crime was not revealing that he had found a low-paying job.
Henry A. Wisneski, 51, [Solvay, N.Y.], pleaded guilty to a felony count of third-degree insurance fraud. He admitted obtaining the benefits from April 2006 through November 2007 by failing to report that he was earning $75 a week on another job.County Judge Anthony Aloi promised Wisneski a sentence of five years probation and set sentencing for June 2. The judge said Wisneski could be terminated from probation as soon as he makes full restitution.
Wisneski collected $17,000 in workers' compensation benefits that he wasn't entitled, according to the court.
Source: Syracuse.com
Topics: workers' compensation benefits, injured worker, workplace injury, workers' compensation fraud, workers' compensation attorney
- Insurers Ask for Changes to NY Workers' Comp Insurance Fund
Insurance companies in New York must be feeling competitive pressure from the New York State Insurance Fund because they've asked legislators to make changes to how the fund is operated.Under a proposal put together by the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New York, oversight of the State Insurance Fund would be moved to the New York Insurance Department, which would be required to review the fund for solvency and monitor its market practices. It would also rescind a state law that requires policyholders to give the fund 30 days' notice when they cancel their policies. Legislation making those changes was introduced earlier this month in both the State Senate and State Assembly.
The fund, which is run by the state, is self-supporting. It originally was set up to provide workers' compensation insurance coverage to companies that couldn't get coverage elsewhere because the risk of workplace injury was high. But according to insurers, "over the years, however, the fund has evolved to compete directly with private carriers and now writes an estimated 40 percent of workers compensation insurance policies in New York."
Source: Insurance Journal
- Ohio Honors Fallen Workers
Ohio recently paid tribute to workers who were killed on the job.It's important that states do something to honor the thousands of people who are injured or killed at work every year. However, the most appropriate tribute would be to improve workplace safety and crack down on employers that are creating unsafe working conditions so that more workers and their families don't have to suffer the same fate.
The ceremony in Ohio was sponsored by the Central Ohio Labor Council at Workers Memorial Park in downtown Columbus "to pay tribute to central Ohio workers who died as a result of a workplace accident. The names of workers killed on-the-job in 2007 were read at the park's memorial wall during the ceremony."
Since 1912, Ohio's workers' compensation system has helped employers and employees cope with workplace injuries by providing safety education and medical and compensatio
