ABA: Too few judges, lack of funding hurting federal courts

Today's post was shared by Legal Newsline and comes from legalnewsline.com

Goodlatte The American Bar Association, in a letter last week, says the combination of too few judges and insufficient funding is diminishing the ability of the federal courts to “serve the people and deliver timely justice.” Thomas Susman, director of the ABA’s Governmental Affairs Office, sent a letter to U.S. Rep. Robert Goodlatte to be made part of the record in a hearing on the need for federal judgeships. Goodlatte Last week, Goodlatte, R-Va. and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, held a hearing titled, “Are More Judges Always the Answer?” Goodlatte contends President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats see the courts as an avenue to advance their agendas. “When the Senate Majority Leader said, ‘We’re focusing very intently on the D.C. Circuit’ and ‘We need at least one more. There’s three vacancies. And that will switch the majority,’ he clearly wasn’t referring to the court’s needs,” he said during the Oct. 29 hearing. But the ABA argues that when federal courts do not have sufficient judges to keep up with the workload, civil trial dockets end up taking a back seat to criminal dockets. “As a result, persistent judge shortages increase the length of time that civil litigants and businesses wait for their day in court, create pressures that ‘robotize’ justice, and increase case backlogs that will perpetuate delays for years to...

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EPA Hits The Road To Seek Input On New Rules

Today's post was shared by Huffington Post and comes from www.huffingtonpost.com

The U.S. states that already have a plan in place to cut carbon pollution from power plants are likely to make the case to regulators this week that their program offers a viable model for others to follow. The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday kicks off an 11-city "listening tour" as part of its effort to craft emissions rules for existing power plants. The tour starts in New York and Atlanta. Meetings will then be held from Boston to Seattle, wrapping up on Nov. 8. The agency is expected to solicit ideas on how best to regulate carbon emissions from the more than 1,000 power plants now in operation - the cornerstone and arguably the most controversial part of the Obama administration's strategy to address climate change. The EPA will use a rarely employed section of the federal Clean Air Act, known as section 111(d), and will rely heavily on input from states to craft a flexible rule that can be applied to states with different energy profiles. President Barack Obama set a June 2014 deadline for the agency to propose its rules, which need to be finalized in June 2015. Officials from some of the nine northeastern states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) - a carbon trading program targeting power sector emissions - will attend some of the sessions and make the case that the initiative has a "plug and play" option for states to meet future federal...

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Let’s get rid of (the term) entitlements

Is Workers' Compensation thought to be an "entltlement?" Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from www.washingtonpost.com

Let’s drop the whole notion of “entitlement.” Just eliminate it. Politicians, pundits and academics who talk about entitlements would then have to name the actual programs and argue their merits and demerits. This would encourage clarity and candor. Of course, that’s why it won’t happen. Generally, Americans don’t want clarity and candor in their fiscal debates. We blame our leaders for budget brawls — this latest was a doozy — but forget that our leaders are largely governed by public opinion, which is awash in contradictions. So the government is “open” and the immediate threat of default has lifted. Great. But the political stalemate remains. Americans oppose excessive government spending and persistent deficits. Yet they also support the individual benefit programs (a.k.a. “entitlements”), led by Social Security, that drive spending and deficits. Until the 1980s, entitlement wasn’t part of everyday language. Ronald Reagan was apparently the first president to use the term extensively. He may have “tired of getting beaten up every time he mentioned Social Security, and wanted a broader and more neutral term,” political scientist Norman Ornstein has suggested. Entitlement is a bland label. To say there’s an “entitlement problem” shrewdly avoids connecting it explicitly with popular programs. President Obama evasively speaks of entitlements in this way; so do most...

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Snowden Offers to Fix Healthcare.gov

Do two negatives equal a positive? Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from www.newyorker.com

The N.S.A. leaker Edward Snowden today reached out to the United States government, offering to fix its troubled healthcare.gov Web site in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Speaking from an undisclosed location in Russia, Mr. Snowden said he hacked the Web site over the weekend and thinks he is “pretty sure what the problem is.” “Look, this thing was built terribly,” he said. “It’s a government Web site, O.K.?” Mr. Snowden said that if an immunity deal can be worked out, “I can get to work on this thing right away—I don’t need a password.” In addition to full immunity, Mr. Snowden said he is requesting that he be allowed to work from home. At the White House, President Obama offered a muted response to Mr. Snowden’s proposal: “Edward Snowden is a traitor who has compromised our national security. Having said that, if he knows why we keep getting those error messages, that could be a conversation.” Get the Borowitz Report delivered to your inbox.Photograph: AP.

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Why the French are Fighting Over Work Hours

Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from www.newyorker.com

It’s telling that in France, where several stores are fighting an order requiring them to close on Sundays, retail employees showed up at work last month wearing T-shirts that read, “YES WEEK END.” It was a play on Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign slogan, and a symbol of the fact that some in France—where shops have been barred from opening on Sundays, with some exceptions, since 1906—have lately been eyeing a more American approach to work. In September, a French tribunal de commerce said that two big home-improvement stores, Castorama and Leroy Merlin, would face daily fines of a hundred and twenty thousand euros per store (about a hundred and fifty thousand dollars) if they continue to operate on Sunday. The retailers have said they will open despite the fines, the result of a lawsuit. People in France like to work on home improvement on Sundays, which makes it one of the busiest days for do-it-yourself stores, accounting for between fifteen and twenty per cent of their sales.  Closing on Sunday could jeopardize the jobs of some twelve hundred employees, according to the Fédération des Magasins de Bricolage, which translates, roughly, as the Federation of Do-It-Yourself Stores. “I really don ’t understand,” said one customer, quoted in the Catholic daily La Croix. “If everyone has agreed to work, why can’t you open the store?” For an American coming from the world of 24/7...

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An Official Statement on Environmental Toxins and Pregnancy

Today's post was shared by RWJF PublicHealth and comes from www.theatlantic.com

For years, the debate over restricting the stew of industrial chemicals that we live in has suffered from a case of he said, she said. Environmental groups sounded the alarm about the thousands of chemicals in our air, water, food, housewares, and shampoo that science suggests — but doesn’t outright prove — could make us sick. They warned about such commonly used substances as BPA (in cans and plastics), fire retardants (in furniture), and phthalates (in cosmetics). Chemical industry representatives countered that there is no clear evidence that their products are unsafe, and tighter regulation would squash innovation. But now it’s about pregnant moms and unborn babies. For the first time ever, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) this week came out with a strong statement about the risks of environmental toxins to pregnant women and fetuses. Also for the first time, the group is going so far as to urge individual doctors to advocate for policy changes to protect women and babies from exposure. “We don’t have cause and effect, but we have enough associations to make us concerned.” “The scientific evidence over the last 15 years shows that exposure to toxic environmental agents before conception and during pregnancy can have significant and long-lasting effects on reproductive health,” wrote ACOG. Another group of reproduction specialists, the American Society...

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After West disaster, News study finds U.S. chemical safety data wrong about 90 percent

Even the best national data on chemical accidents is wrong nine times out of 10.

A Dallas Morning News analysis of more than 750,000 federal records found pervasive inaccuracies and holes in data on chemical accidents, such as the one in West that killed 15 people and injured more than 300.

In fact, no one at any level of government knows how often serious chemical accidents occur each year in the United States. And there is no plan in place for federal agencies to gather more accurate information.

As a result, the kind of data sharing ordered by President Barack Obama in response to West is unlikely to improve the government’s ability to answer even the most basic questions about chemical safety.

“We can track Gross National Product to the second and third decimal, but there is no reliable way of tracking even simple things like how many [chemical] accidents happen,” said Sam Mannan, a nationally recognized expert on chemical safety who recently testified before a congressional hearing on West.

“This is just scandalous.”

After the West explosion in April, The News asked a simple question: How often do serious or potentially serious industrial chemical accidents occur in Texas and nationwide? After scouring the four federal databases with the most comprehensive information available on chemical safety, The News concluded that there was no way to know.

For a recent four-year period, the paper managed to confirm at least...

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After West disaster, News study finds U.S. chemical safety data wrong about 90 percent

Today's post was shared by WCBlog and comes from share.d-news.co

Even the best national data on chemical accidents is wrong nine times out of 10. A Dallas Morning News analysis of more than 750,000 federal records found pervasive inaccuracies and holes in data on chemical accidents, such as the one in West that killed 15 people and injured more than 300. In fact, no one at any level of government knows how often serious chemical accidents occur each year in the United States. And there is no plan in place for federal agencies to gather more accurate information. As a result, the kind of data sharing ordered by President Barack Obama in response to West is unlikely to improve the government’s ability to answer even the most basic questions about chemical safety. “We can track Gross National Product to the second and third decimal, but there is no reliable way of tracking even simple things like how many [chemical] accidents happen,” said Sam Mannan, a nationally recognized expert on chemical safety who recently testified before a congressional hearing on West. “This is just scandalous.” After the West explosion in April, The News asked a simple question: How often do serious or potentially serious industrial chemical accidents occur in Texas and nationwide? After scouring the four federal databases with the most comprehensive information available on chemical safety, The News concluded that there was no way to know. For a recent four-year period, the paper managed to confirm at least 24...

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Obama to Increase Workers' Compensation Benefits

President Obama announced a plan this week that will increase benefits paid to injured workers though workers' compensation insurance. Obama intends to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.00 per hour and "index" future increases.

The majority the nation's patchwork of workers' compensation systems are based on a payment scheme linked to wages. The State Average Weekly Wage (SAAW) establishes the foundation upon which temporary disability and permanent disability payments are determined. As wages increase so will benefits.

President Barack Obama
Delivering The State of The Union
White House Photo: Chuck Kennedy

A White House spokesperson announced that, "The President’s plan strengthens the middle class by making America a magnet for jobs, equipping every American with the skills they need to do those jobs, and ensuring hard work leads to a decent living."

"The President believes that no one who works fulltime should have to raise their family in poverty. But right now, a full-time minimum wage worker makes $14,500 a year – which leaves
too many families struggling to make ends meet, with a family of four with a minimum wage worker still living below the poverty line. That’s why the President is calling on Congress to raise the Federal minimum wage for working Americans in stages to $9 in 2015 and index it to inflation thereafter."

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The President signs the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I want to thank everybody who is here because they all did outstanding work to help us get this legislation completed.

As you know, I think all Americans feel we have a moral, sacred duty towards our men and women in uniform. They protect our freedom, and it’s our obligation to do right by them. This bill takes another important step in fulfilling that commitment.

I want to thank the members of Congress who helped to make this happen. It is going to have immediate impact. It is going to improve access to health care, streamline services in the VA. It expands support for veterans who are homeless.

There are two parts to the bill, though, that I especially want to highlight. First of all, this bill ends a decade-long struggle for those who serve at Camp Lejeune. Some of the veterans and their families who were based in Camp Lejeune in the years when the water was contaminated will now have access to extended medical care. And, sadly, this act alone will not bring back those we’ve lost, including Jane Ensminger, but it will honor their memory by making a real difference for those who are still suffering.

The second part of this bill that I want to highlight -- prohibit protesting within 300 feet of military funerals during the two hours before and two hours after a service. I supported this step as a senator. I am very pleased to be signing this bill into law. The graves of our veterans are hallowed ground. And obviously we all defend our Constitution and the First Amendment and free speech, but we also believe that when men and women die in the service of their country and are laid to rest, it should be done with the utmost honor and respect.

So I’m glad that Congress passed this bill and I hope that we can continue to do some more good bipartisan work in protecting our veterans. I’ve been advocating, for example, for a veterans job corps that could help provide additional opportunities for the men and women who are coming home as we’re winding down our operations in Afghanistan and having ended the war in Iraq. And so this is a good sign of a bipartisan spirit that I’m sure is going to carry through all the way to Election Day and beyond.

With that, I’m going to sign the bill. Make sure I sign the right place, though.

(The bill is signed.)

There you go. Congratulations, everybody. Good work. Thank you very much.

More about Camp Lejuene

Workers' Compensation: Camp Lejeune Veterans Act

Jul 21, 2012

C.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, announced that the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, H.R. 1627 a bill that improves services and care for ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Workers' Compensation: Camp Lejeune Toxic Exposure

Feb 18, 2010

Newly reported information is now demonstrating that the water at Camp Lejeune NC military base may have been contaminated as a result of a toxic spill. Marines, sailors, their families and other civilian contractors may be ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

ATSDR Health Survey of Pre-1986 Personnel at Camp Lejeune

May 28, 2011

During June--December 2011, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry will conduct a health survey of persons who resided or worked at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina before 1986 and ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

VA Outlines New Policy to Address Burn Pit Hazards

May 08, 2010

(5) contaminated drinking water at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina; and (6) pollutants from a waste incinerator near the Naval Air Facility (NAF) at Atsugi, Japan. It is imperative that regional office personnel are aware of these ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

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Distracted Driving: Federal Guidelines Proposed For Automakers

After years of accidents in the workplace caused by the use of mobile devices in vehicles, the Federal Government today proposed universal universal guidelines to encourage automobile manufacturers to electronically disable these devices when a vehicle is in operation.  The enforcement of this safety-first proposal may establish a legal standard universally to bar the use of such devices in vehicles and encourage employees to have a safer working environment.

See: U.S. Department of Transportation Proposes ‘Distraction’ Guidelines for Automakers
"Issued by the Department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the guidelines would establish specific recommended criteria for electronic devices installed in vehicles at the time they are manufactured that require visual or manual operation by drivers. The announcement of the guidelines comes just days after President Obama’s FY 2013 budget request, which includes $330 million over six years for distracted driving programs that increase awareness of the issue and encourage stakeholders to take action. "

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Merit-Based Workers Compensation: The Romney-Gingrich Plan

The Republican presidential primary battle has inadequately defined the debate guidelines for the future of workers' compensation in the US. While both leading Republican candidates are throwing darts at each other on many points, the basic philosophy of both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich is to extinguish the so-called "entitlement society." They claim Barack Obama, "the food stamp president," has accelerated the problem. 


Of course, missing from the debate is that fact that the US has changed, in tandem, with the rest of the world. The nation's manufacturing sector left the auditorium, and with it went jobs and premiums for supporting a viable workers' compensation system. What it left was a legacy of industrial illness and disease that is fatally affecting the nation's medical delivery system and burdening the taxpayers of our nation.


If the political debate is to become credible, the medical treatment delivery system must be addressed rather than just throwing around meaningless political rhetoric. While the safety net is slowing deteriorating, there remains still an opportunity to re-design and advance a credible workers' compensation system. If the debate continues along the present path, the opportunity will be lost and the nation will loose.

See The Republican Myth Of Obama’s “Entitlement Society” By Robert Reich
"But they have cause and effect backwards. The reason for the rise in food stamps, unemployment insurance, and other safety-net programs is Americans got clobbered in 2008 with the worst economic catastrophe since the Great Depression. They and their families have needed whatever helping hands they could get."

.....

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses. 

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7 Problems Facing Work Comp in a Credit Default

White House Photo, Pete Souza, 7/25/11

Workers' Compensation payments are so intertwined with the national system of workers' compensation that a potential US credit fault will impact the system significantly. Workers' Compensation is social remedial legislation and as the US government leaders struggle to find a political solution to the nation's financial crisis concern becomes focussed on how a shutdown will impact the national workers' compensation system.


The consequences of a US credit default will be significant. President Obama stated, "If that happens, and we default, we would not have enough money to pay all of our bills -– bills that include monthly Social Security checks, veterans’ benefits, and the government contracts we’ve signed with thousands of businesses. "


1. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and their contractor will be unable to provide conditional payment information under the Medicare Secondary Payer Act. Negotiations in workers compensation matters will come to halt.


2. CMS will be unable to approve compromises and releases in advance of workers' compensation disposition thereby halting the State systems.


3. CMS and their agents will be unable to review Medicare Set-Aside Agreements thereby stopping workers' compensation dispositions by compromise.


4. Chaos will erupt in those States where Social Security takes a reverse offset on permanency payments. Workers' compensation insurance companies and employers will become responsible for the entire amount to be paid.


5. The Veterans' Administration will be unable to provide information concerning medical treatment. Records will he held-up and will delay evaluations in adjudications in workers' compensation cases.


6. Tricare and other federal insurance providers will be unable to provide benefit information. The lack of reimbursement data will stymie evaluation of medica reimbursement issues slowing the disposition and settlements of workers' compensation claims.


7. The US Military will be unable to provide Personnel Records and prior medical treatment and claim information.


The potential fiscal impact of a US debt crisis is enormous.  Hopefully, the politicians in Washington will reach a compromise and the this crisis will be resolved and everyone can creatively focus on making the compensation system less complicated and more efficient.

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Zadroga Health Fund Benefits Scheduled to Begin in October

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Senator Charles Schumer has announced that Zadroga Health Fund benefits will be paid out to survivors of the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, beginning in October. Schumer received this invitation from US Attorney General Eric Holder.The announcement comes on the eve of visit to New York City by President Barack Obama.

On January 2, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act establishing the World Trade Health Program and extends and expands eligibility for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001.

It is probable that cancers resulting from the exposures will be covered under the legislation. Historically, occupational and environmental exposures to carcinogens, such as asbestos, may take many years to progress and manifest into conditions as asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer.

Additionally, various respiratory and digestive diseases are being reported including:1. Interstitial lung diseases.
2. Chronic respiratory disorder--fumes/vapors.
3. Asthma.
4. Reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS).
5. WTC-exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
6. Chronic cough syndrome.
7. Upper airway hyperreactivity.
8. Chronic rhinosinusitis.
9. Chronic nasopharyngitis.
10. Chronic laryngitis.
11. Gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD).

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered asbestos related disease. Please contact our office if you require assistance in filing a claim under the newly enacted James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.

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Presidential Proclamation -- Workers Memorial Day

Image via Wikipedia

A PROCLAMATION

This year marks the 40th anniversary of both the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, which promise American workers the right to a safe workplace and require employers to provide safe conditions. Yet, today, we remain too far from fulfilling that promise. On Workers Memorial Day, we remember all those who have died, been injured, or become sick on the job, and we renew our commitment to ensure the safety of American workers.

The families of the 29 coal miners who lost their lives on April 5 in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia are in our thoughts and prayers. We also mourn the loss of 7 workers who died in a refinery explosion in Washington State just days earlier, the 4 workers who died at a power plant in Connecticut earlier this year, and the 11 workers lost in the oil platform explosion off the coast of Louisiana just last week.

Although these large-scale tragedies are appalling, most workplace deaths result from tragedies that claim one life at a time through preventable incidents or disabling disease. Every day, 14 workers are killed in on-the-job incidents, while thousands die each year of work-related disease, and millions are injured or contract an illness. Most die far from the spotlight, unrecognized and unnoticed by all but their families, friends, and co-workers -- but they are not forgotten.

The legal right to a safe workplace was won only after countless lives had been lost over decades in workplaces across America, and after a long and bitter fight waged by workers, unions, and public health advocates. Much remains to be done, and my Administration is dedicated to renewing our Nation's commitment to achieve safe working conditions for all American workers.

Providing safer work environments will take the concerted action of government, businesses, employer associations, unions, community organizations, the scientific and public health communities, and individuals. Today, as we mourn those lost mere weeks ago in the Upper Big Branch Mine and other recent disasters, so do we honor all the men and women who have died on the job. In their memory, we rededicate ourselves to preventing such tragedies, and to securing a safer workplace for every American.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 28, 2010, as Workers Memorial Day. I call upon all Americans to participate in ceremonies and activities in memory of those who have been killed due to unsafe working conditions.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

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