Port Terminal Operator APM Eavesdropped on Workers, Union Alleges

APM Terminals has been accused by a California dockworkers union of eavesdropping on workers to gain an edge in contract negotiations.

http://tinyurl.com/cy4cv34

Slow Recovery Affects Workers’ Compensation Benefits and Costs

Workers’ compensation benefits declined to $57.5 billion in 2010 according to a report released today by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI).

http://tinyurl.com/cyzxff6

Pay Me Once, Pay Me Twice, Pay Me Thrice

Factually, Mr. Jenkins was an employee of Bombardier Aerospace driving a company vehicle, within the course and scope of his employment, when he was struck by another vehicle owned by the City of Elkins and driven by its employee Stephen Stanton, likewise in the course and scope of his employment.

http://tinyurl.com/bsel4ky

Wage Theft is Illegal and Immoral

Kim Bobo, the Executive Director of Interfaith Worker Justice and the author of “Wage Theft in America,” recently spoke at Duke Divinity School and then at N.C. Central University School of Law in Durham, N.C.

http://tinyurl.com/d9gjvet

L.A. County Transit Officials OK More Funds for Blue Line Safety

Los Angeles County transit officials Thursday budgeted $6.78 million more for improvements on the Blue Line — one of the busiest light-rail lines in the nation, with 26 million riders annually and a history of accidents and fatalities.

http://tinyurl.com/btnb3qs

South Korean Government Says Samsung Chip Plan Caused Workers’ Breast Cancer

A South Korean government agency said Friday that working at a Samsung Electronics factory caused the breast cancer of a worker who died earlier this year, only the second time it has recognized a link between cancer and Samsung’s chip plants.

http://tinyurl.com/c6mapj5

Physical Therapy Can Be Beneficial for Workers’ Comp Injuries

Physical therapy is a medical service that uses therapeutic exercise to help a person regain or improve his or her normal body movements.

http://tinyurl.com/atovwlg

OSHA Releases Online Tool To Help Protect Workers Exposed to Cadmium

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today released a new interactive online tool to help protect workers exposed to cadmium. The new interactive online tool will assist employers in complying with OSHA’s cadmium standard (29 CFR 1910.1027).

http://tinyurl.com/ahrr3oh

Psycho-Social Challenges of Managing Employee Illness Presenteeism, Absenteeism, and Monday Effect Oh My

The concept of “it’s complicated” extends beyond describing a romantic relationship; it also often applies to the relationship between an employee’s illness or injury and that person’s employment.

http://tinyurl.com/d69kjfh

Is Workers’ Compensation My Only Option if I Suffer Serious Injuries on a Construction Job?

When you suffer on-the-job injuries at a construction site, or any other place of employment, the Workers Compensation program can provide important benefits to help you obtain immediate medical treatment.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/bm4qquc

Low-Wage Workers Vulnerable to Financial Hits That Result form On-The-job Injuries and Illnessess

Low-wage workers, who make up a large and growing share of the U.S. workforce, are especially vulnerable to financial hits that can result from on-the-job injuries and illnesses, according to a policy brief released today by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS).

http://tinyurl.com/brs9ted

Why Injured Workers Should Deactivate Their Social Media Accounts

Recently, it seems as though everyone is connected through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

http://tinyurl.com/ceuk5gs

X-Rated Surveillance Tape Lands Hayward Woman in Jail on Fraud Charges

Surveillance video of a woman running in high heels and performing oral sex in a public park landed her behind bars Thursday after a judge sentenced her to nine months in jail for performing the physical acts while claiming to be too injured to work, the district attorney said.

http://tinyurl.com/c5azvvz

California Law Associates Attorney Comments on Second Workplace Accident in San Bernardino County

A fatal accident at a concrete plant was the second in three months involving a worker who lost a leg, according to the Contra Costa Times.

http://tinyurl.com/bmr9mp9

Missouri: No Benefits for Unexplained Fall

An 85-year old employee fell after washing her hands in the employer’s bathroom and broke her hip. The Commission denied benefits that claimant established her injury flowed from an identifiable work hazard.

http://tinyurl.com/bokfqhc

Potential Work Comp Problem: California Lawmaker Wants to Expand Roles of Health Care Workers

A California lawmaker says meeting the demand for care under the Affordable Care Act will require expanding the roles of people who work in the current health system.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/ccptn7h

Compensable Knee Injury Upheld for Soccer Playing Applicant

WCAB upheld WCJ’s finding that applicant suffered injury AOE/COE to his left knee based on totality of record, including applicant’s unrebutted testimony that he smashed his left knee and leg against steering column of his truck while en route to visit customer, and substantial medical evidence indicating that applicant needed knee surgery as result of that blow, and WCAB found that fact that applicant had played soccer in past, while…

http://tinyurl.com/ck9tnvy

San Francisco and LA Restaurant Workers Recover Over $672K After Department of Labor Investigation

Ongoing enforcement initiatives conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that focused on the restaurant industry in California have uncovered significant violations of the minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Under these initiatives, personnel from the division’s San Francisco and Los Angeles District Offices conducted several restaurant investigations in 2012.

http://tinyurl.com/camtefn

“Right-to-work” in Michigan a Blow to Union Power

Michigan’s state legislature approved on Tuesday two new laws making it a so-called right-to-work state where it would be against the law for a union to require all employees to join and pay dues as a condition of employment.

http://tinyurl.com/cb3fjna

Some Peace Corps Volunteers Face Injury Overseas, Indifference at Home

In June 2011, nine months into her assignment as a Peace Corps paramedic in the Central Asian republic of Turkmenistan, Caitlyn Hogan was run over by a car while crossing a gravel road near her apartment.

http://tinyurl.com/az76hv4

CWCI Study Tracks Growth of California Workers’ Comp Medical Payments

A new CWCI study on changes in California workers’ compensation medical payments finds that since accident year (AY) 2005 – the first year after the last round of workers’ compensation reforms – the average amounts insurers pay for medical services on work injury claims have jumped sharply…

http://tinyurl.com/cm8oq6r

Construction-Employer Associations View Workers’ Compensation Reform and Regulations As Part Of A “Double-Edged Sword” To Fight Fraud

The passage of Senate Bill 863 (de Leon) overhauling California’s workers’ compensation system is seen by contractors throughout the state as the sharp edge of a double-edged sword to reduce fraud and take a slice out of the construction underground economy.

http://tinyurl.com/amfmuvr

Got Treatment? How to Expedite Medical Treatment and Avoid Penalties in California

The recent panel decision of Castrillo v. Catholic Health Care West, 2012 Cal. Wrk. Comp P.D. Lexis 454, presents an interesting slant on a judge’s denial of the applicant’s request for penalties.

http://tinyurl.com/b2rfjpq

How to Stop Hospitals From Killing Us

When there is a plane crash in the U.S., even a minor one, it makes headlines. http://tinyurl.com/a3ltzby

Atascadero Hospital Fined Over Worker Safety Lapses

California workplace safety officials have once again fined a state mental hospital for failing to keep staff members safe from patient assaults.

http://tinyurl.com/clb7tol

DWC posts draft SB 863 regulations for interpreter certification and Qualified Medical Examiner (QME) regulations

The Division of Workers’ Compensation has posted to its online forum draft regulations regarding interpreters and qualified medical evaluators (QMEs) that implement Senate Bill 863.

http://tinyurl.com/cmhxynz

Dole Workers Return to Atwater Plant After Ammonia Leak

Workers returned to the Dole plant Wednesday after a large ammonia leak that prompted evacuations of employees and some residents Tuesday evening.

http://tinyurl.com/bjnolbg

Aging “Baby Boomers” and Workers’ Compensation

Last week, we started talking about some of the NCCI’s interesting conclusions about the implications of “Baby Boomers” in the workplace.

http://tinyurl.com/amc2exy

From Hand to Mouth-Workers Need to be Concerned About Chemical Safety

A recently published a paper about the inadvertent ingestion of chemicals at work from contact between the mouth and contaminated hands or objects highlights how dangerous exposure could occur at work.

http://tinyurl.com/b7wonuu

Use of “Surprise” Video Surveillance During a Workers’ Compensation Trial

Video surveillance is allowed in workers’ compensation cases and is often used to make sure a petitioner is telling the truth about the extent of his injuries or the limitations he has as a result of his work injuries.

http://tinyurl.com/cyu84mg

Common Workplace Ailments in the Office

When many people think of workplace injuries, their thoughts turn to manufacturing accidents.

http://tinyurl.com/a9kjzkt

Can I Get A Second Opinion On My Workers’ Compensation Injury?

You can get a second opinion on an injury that occurred while at work.

http://tinyurl.com/apms8lb

Co-Morbidities and the Cost of Claims

NCCI Holdings has issued a report on the impact of co-morbidities on workers’ comp claims.

http://tinyurl.com/adscetj

Port workers back on the job after deal ends costly strike

Newly opened terminals at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles swung into high gear early today as dockworkers and operators quickly worked to unclog the backlog of products left unmoved because of a weeklong strike between clerical workers and their employers.

http://tinyurl.com/bb2blv6

AFGE Leads Efforts to Stop Cuts to Federal Wages

AFGE is leading a coalition that is standing up to any further wage cuts for federal government employees. AFGE members are concerned that working families employed by the federal government will once again be the target of wage, benefit or pension cuts. In the past decade, federal workers have been targeted for $103 billion in cuts—an average of $50,000 per worker.

http://tinyurl.com/a8pejzv

Locked-Out Crystal Sugar Workers Reject Latest Contract

For the fourth time, locked-out American Crystal Sugar workers rejected an identical contract offer from the management company. The workers are members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM).

http://tinyurl.com/a8l4gx2

Shopper Alert! Will Labor Strike at L.A. Ports Mean Bare Shelves?

The labor strike at the ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., the two biggest ports in the US, probably won’t keep toys and TVs off the shelves for the holiday season, but it is likely to affect white sales and other annual post-Christmas mega-bargains if it is not resolved soon.

http://tinyurl.com/amxvevh

NIOSH Safety Video MOVE IT!

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has published a video to enchance trucker safety.

http://tinyurl.com/bf74fgp

When Does A Flight Attendant Become ‘On The Job?’ What If I Get Injured Before I Even Check In For The Flight?

Anyone who reads this blog regularly will know that one of the hardest things about a worker’s compensation claim is establishing that you had an accident in the first place and that this accident is compensable under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act.

http://tinyurl.com/9wprbwl

Hospital Controlled Physician Access and Workers’ Compensation

As hospital consolidation of physician practices by acquisition continues, the question of the impact on control of the cost workers’ compensation medical delivery remains uncertain.

http://tinyurl.com/ala9xrg

California SB 863: Commentary on Proposed Independent Medical Review Regulations

On November 27, 2012, the DWC posted on the DIR website proposed “emergency” regulations for implementation of the Independent Medical Review (IMR) Process pursuant to the reform language of SB863:

http://tinyurl.com/ccpzesg

Insurance Commissioner Recommends Small Workers’ Comp Rate Hike

Insurers providing workers’ compensation coverage should raise average base rates for 2013 by a modest 2.8 percent, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones

advised on Friday evening.

http://tinyurl.com/cdyvff6

LA-Long Beach Port Strike Enters Second Week

A strike that’s closed most of the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex enters its second week as LA’s mayor calls for round-the-clock talks to end it.

http://tinyurl.com/cw4mtz8

Walmart’s New Health Care Policy Shifts Burden To Medicaid, Obamacare

Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, plans to begin denying health insurance to newly hired employees who work fewer than 30 hours a week, according to a copy of the company’s policy obtained by The Huffington Post.

http://tinyurl.com/czgx7nh

Study: Soccer Players Without Concussions Still Have Brain Damage

A small study of professional soccer players found that even those who have never experienced a concussion still have changes in the white matter of their brains, likely from routine and unprotected headers.

http://tinyurl.com/b6c456y

Express Scripts Publishes Inaugural Drug Trend Quarterly

According to new data released by Express Scripts (ESRX), price inflation of branded pharmaceutical drugs is far outpacing overall economic inflation.

http://tinyurl.com/bqxphmo

Workplace Homicides and Violent Work Injuries

Preliminary reporting by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2010-2011 states that there were 458 homicides in the workplace nationwide.

http://tinyurl.com/bov5fw7

Fast-Food Workers’ Strike Over Wages Hits Chain Locations In New York

Fast-food restaurant employees protested in New York City on Thursday, demanding higher pay and the right to form a union – the latest attempt by lower-wage workers in the United States to increase their compensation.

http://tinyurl.com/c6s8vnh

Workforce: Study Pins Down Inland’s Future Job Needs

Manufacturing and health care are the two top sectors that will need more workers in the Inland area in the next few years, a San Bernardino County-sponsored study released Monday, Nov. 5 found.

http://tinyurl.com/dxxk79c

New Jersey Bans Medical Providers From Charging Claimants for Work-Related Medical Expenses

New Jersey, like many states, has had an ongoing problem with physicians and hospitals that balance bill injured workers for work-related care.

http://tinyurl.com/cdk3pg4