OK's True Cost Control Feature

Counsel fees are a critical element to workers' compensation claims. David DePaolo's recent blog post highlights how counsel fees motivate some claim strategies in Oklahoma where a 30% fee prevails. Today's post was shared by WorkCompCentral and comes from daviddepaolo.blogspot.com

Most of the attention Oklahoma's reform is getting in the work comp world is about opt-out. But another minor provision of that law may be something more meaningful for traditional work comp systems to keep an eye on. Oklahoma for some time has had a "value added" provision on its books for attorney fees. In short, claimant attorneys fees are capped at 30%, but in the past that cap was available only if the employer admitted the claim, provided medical coverage and made a written settlement offer. Under Senate Bill 1062 all that is required now is that the employer make a written settlement offer, then the claimant attorney fee is capped at 30% of the difference between what the settlement offer is, and what the award actually ends up being. For instance, if an employer offers an injured worker a settlement of $10,000, the worker hires an attorney and obtains a $15,000 settlement, the claimant's attorney would only be entitled to attorney fees of up to 30% on the $5,000 difference between the two awards. Because the law in the past required admitting liability and providing medical services, many employers deferred making settlement offers, thus prolonging case adjudication, ergo expense. Since employers would have to admit the claim in order to invoke the cap on attorney fees, claimants' attorneys began adding additional body parts to increase the value of the case and make it more difficult for employers to admit the claim - employers were loath to admit to body parts that they...

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Nation’s Biggest Assisted Living Chain Agrees to Pay $2.2 Million to Settle Claims of Cheating on Wages

Wages in workers' compensation claims determine rates pf payment. The higher the wage usually, the higher the benefit payment. Today's post was shared by FairWarning and comes from www.fairwarning.org

Workers who care for frail seniors win settlement from Emeritus Senior Living. The chain, the country’s largest assisted living company, agreed to pay up to $2.2 million to settle claims that it routinely underpaid workers at dozens of California operations. Hands-on workers at Emeritus centers – non-salaried aides and support staffers who provide care and clean — alleged in a suit that the company had not only shortchanged them in their pay, but also violated state laws on mandated meal times and rest periods.

Report Recommends Raising Workers' Compensation Premiums

The California "too good to be true" reform effort, was just that, too good to be true. Rates are going up and benefits are going down. Today's post was shared by votersinjuredatwork and comes from www.californiahealthline.org

Workers' compensation premiums in California should increase by 3.4% in 2014, according to a report by the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, the Sacramento Bee's "Capitol Alert" reports.The report represents a non-binding recommendation for insurers (Walters, "Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 8/12). Background In September 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed into law a bill (SB 863) that overhauled the state's workers' compensation system. The law -- by Sens. Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) and Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim) -- changed the formula used to calculate benefits for injured workers, increasing their compensation by an average of 29%. It also eliminated benefits for certain health conditions that often are subject to lawsuits, such as psychiatric problems, sexual dysfunction and sleep loss.

Limit urged for cancer-causing chromium in California drinking water

Today's post was shared by FairWarning and comes from www.latimes.com 

State public health officials Thursday proposed the nation's first drinking-water standard for the carcinogen hexavalent chromium, at a level that elicited sighs of relief from municipal water managers and criticism from environmentalists.

At 10 parts per billion, the standard is 500 times greater than the non-enforceable public health goal set two years ago by the state Environmental Protection Agency.The Department of Public Health described the proposed limit as a balance of public health, cost and treatment technology, but the agency acknowledged that economics were a key consideration.

Mark Starr, deputy director of the Center for Environmental Health, said the state's aim was to determine the lowest possible limit for the toxic heavy metal "given the technology available and the cost in order to protect public health."

Environmentalists said the 10 parts per billion standard — the equivalent of about 10 drops in an Olympic-sized pool — was far too high. "Five hundred times higher than safe levels is not protective of public health," said Avinash Kar, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, which sued the state to issue the long-delayed standard.

Walmart CEO Mike Duke Pushes Back Against Company's Minimum Wage Reputation

The struggle to increase minimum wages continues. Some perceptual targets such as Walmart are trying to spin the story a to a different perspective. Today's post was shared by Huffington Post and comes from www.huffingtonpost.com

Fast food and retail workers across the country have taken to the streets this year to decry their low wages. But the CEO of Walmart, which is often a target for criticism in that battle, claims a very small share of its workers actually make the bare minimum. “I think less than one percent of our associates make the minimum wage,” Walmart CEO Mike Duke said in an interview with CNBC's Maria Bartiromo. "The vast majority of our associates are paid more than that.” More specifically, less than one half of one percent of Walmart's hourly associates make their state or federal minimum wage, according to a Walmart spokesman. The company claims that full-time Walmart workers make $12.78 per hour on average, much more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25. Yet that figure excludes part-time workers, a group that likely makes up a substantial share of Walmart's workforce, thought not its majority, according to the company.

EPA Proposes Plan to Address Contaminated Soils and Ground Water at Maywood Chemical Company Superfund Site in Maywood and Rochelle Park, New Jersey: Cleanup Estimated to Cost $17 Million

Some industries leave a legacy of illness and pollution. Building factories near the waterfront even complicates the clean-up further. The Passaic River in NJ provided a sewer in the past for industrial pollution, NJ has had to cope with Super Fund cleanups.Today's post was shared by US EPA News and comes from yosemite.epa.gov

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a plan to address contaminated soil at the Maywood Chemical Company Superfund site in Maywood and Rochelle Park, New Jersey.

Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Previous industrial activity at the site resulted in contamination of the soil and ground water with volatile organic compounds, radioactive waste and metals. Exposure to these pollutants can have serious health effects, and in some cases, increase the risk of cancer. The EPA proposal calls for a combination of removing and treating contaminated soil.

"The cleanup plan proposed by EPA will address the contaminated soil and reduce the risk posed by the contamination to people’s health and the environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “The EPA encourages the public to attend the Maywood Chemical Company Superfund site meeting and share their views on the proposed plan.”

The EPA will hold a public meeting on September 9, 2013, to explain the proposed plan and is encouraging public comments. The meeting will be held at the Maywood Public Library, Trinka Hall (lower level) at 459 Maywood Avenue, Maywood, New Jersey, from 7:00-9:00pm. Comments will be accepted until September 23, 2013.Operations at the former Maywood Chemical Works began in 1895 and from 1916 to 1955 included thorium processing, which produced radioactive waste. Other...

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Jon L.Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson). For over 4 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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Silica: A Long Overdue Proposal

The long awaited "Silica standard" for workers has been proposed by OSHA. This post is shared from Dr. David Michaels,  Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health.

Alan White is a 48-year-old foundry worker from Buffalo, N.Y. – he’s in the local steelworkers union, employed at the same foundry where his father also worked. He just became a grandfather. Three years ago, Alan went to a doctor who did a series of tests and told him that he had contracted silicosis, a debilitating lung disease he got from being exposed to silica at his job.

I met Alan last year on a trip he made to Washington to talk about how he got silicosis and the effects of the disease on his life. This is what he told me:

“I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I eat organic foods, I don’t eat much red meat. Now I know that my lifestyle probably won’t benefit my long-term health because of the devastating effects of silica exposure. As a new grandfather, I probably will not be able to run with my grandchild through the park as I had hoped.  Even simple tasks like walking and talking on a cell phone are difficult and my outlook is downhill from here.”

Earlier today, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed a new rule to protect workers from silica exposure, and we’re reaching out to stakeholders for their help to develop a final rule with effective solutions that will protect workers like Alan.

Healthy lungs vs. silicosis

Crystalline silica kills hundreds of American workers and sickens thousands more each year. These very small silica dust particles are hazardous when workers breathe them in. They can cause silicosis – an incurable and progressive disease. Workers can be exposed to airborne silica dust from cutting, sawing, drilling and crushing concrete, brick, block and other stone products. They also can be exposed during operations that use sand products such as glass manufacturing, sand blasting and −as in Alan’s case −foundry work.