Workers' Compensation: Search results for burton

Showing posts sorted by date for query burton. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Monday, November 25, 2013

California Workers' Compensation Rates Going Up in 2014

Despite the fact that recent legislation in California limited access to the Worker's Compensation system even further, and imposed medical treatment review procedures without the availability of an adversary system, worker's Compensation rates are increasing in 2014.

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today adopted an advisory average pure premium rate of 2.70 dollars per 100 dollars of employer payroll for workers compensation rates effective January 1, 2014.

The adopted amount is lower than that proposed by the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating
Bureau of California's (WCIRB). The WCIRB's proposed advisory average rate was $2.75 per $100 of payroll.

The WCIRB's proposed advisory average pure premium rate is 8.7% ($2.75 per $100 of payroll) above the industry's average filed rates as of July 1, 2013 and the adopted pure premium rate ($2.70 per $100 of payroll) is 6.7% above the industry's average filed rates as of July 1, 2013.

Commissioner Jones, the WCIRB and the public members' actuary all agree that the overall impact of SB 863 (2012) continues to result in savings for the workers' compensation system.

The California Department of Insurance continues to observe that medical and indemnity losses are outpacing wage growth and consequently, the average advisory pure premium will increase in 2014.
Media Note:

The commissioner's pure premium decision is advisory only. Pursuant to California law, the commissioner does not set or have authority over workers' compensation insurance rates. The commissioner's advisory pure premium rate is not predictive of what an individual insurance company may charge its policyholders because the review of pure premium rates is just one component of insurance pricing.
Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California

Found on

Red Bird Express sued for allegedly refusing to rehire injured worker

Today's post was shared by votersinjuredatwork and comes from www.naidw.org

A Worden trucking company is accused of refusing to allow an employee to come back to work after he was hurt on the job.

Christopher Chancey filed a lawsuit Oct. 24 in Madison County Circuit Court against Red Bird Express.
Chancey says he began working for Red Bird Express in December 2010. In August 2011, according to the complaint, Chancey was injured while working and filed a workers’ compensation claim which allowed him to take time off and receive benefits.
Chancey claims his doctor said he was ready to return to work full-time onApril 15. However, when he went back to Red Bird and asked to be reinstated in his position Chancey says he was told by the company that his job had been filled and there was no other work available. Chancey also alleges Red Bird did not fill his vacant position until after his doctor released him to work again.
The trucking company is accused of violating Illinois’ Workers’ Compensation Act after failing to recall Chancey to work which Chancey contends was in retaliation for filing an on-the-job injury claim. Chancey asks for more than $100,000 in punitive and compensatory damages for lost wages, lost benefits and costs of the lawsuit.
Attorneys Thomas C. Rich, Kristina D. Cooksey and Michelle M. Rich of Fairview Heights represent Chancey.
Madison County Circuit Court Case No. 13-L-1788

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Found on

Workers Compensation For Firefighters Discussed

The Kentucky Association of Firefighters is backing legislation that presumes full-time firefighters who develop cancer got it on the job and would be eligible to collect workers compensation.
Representatives of the organization made their case in Frankfort on Thursday (Nov. 21) before House and Senate members of the Interim Joint Committee on Labor and Industry.
They were joined by Doctor Virginia Weaver, a physician and professor of Occupational Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. She says the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is doing some important research on the hazards of firefighting.
“They’re looking at firefighters from three major cities in the U.S., comparing risk for cancer in firefighters with the general U.S. public, and found an increased overall risk for all cancer, an increased individual risk focused in the digestive tract and the respiratory tract.” –Virginia Weaver
The bill that’s being proposed in Kentucky would only apply to professional firefighters who’ve been on the job at least five years. It would also exclude those who smoke.

[Click here to see the original post]

Found on

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Wages Stagnate as U.S. Manufacturers Reap Record Profits

It appears that the "great rebound" in US wages has not happened. Wages set rates of compensation benefits paid, so the lower the wages the less benefits paid. Workers' Compensation payments have become recessive and overall workers are doing worse with present workers' compensation benefit programs than in the past decades. Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from www.businessweek.com

Machinist Michael Pargeter reached for a reference to a TV cartoon set in the Stone Age to explain why union members were spurning a contract offer from Boeing Co. (BA:US)
Wages would be set “back to the Flintstones era” with a plan to slow future raises for new employees, Pargeter, 62, said outside a Seattle union hall last week while ballots were being counted, referring to an animated television show about prehistoric family life.
Boeing’s quest for concessions and employees’ opposition exposed a fault line in U.S. industry’s post-recession comeback: Even with hiring and output robust enough to be dubbed a manufacturing renaissance by President Barack Obama, workers are falling behind. Factory pay hasn’t kept pace with inflation and has fallen 3 percent on that basis since May 2009, while average pay for all wage earners slid only about 1 percent.
“We need to focus on how many jobs there are that give an adult a chance to earn a decent living,” said Gordon Lafer, an associate professor at the University of Oregon’s Labor Education and Research Center in Eugene. “Too much of the discussion has been about the number of jobs, and that’s obviously important, but there’s also a...

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Found on

Obamacare Has a Friend in the Health Care Industry

Today's post was shared by Mother Jones and comes from www.motherjones.com

In the LA Times today, Noam Levey writes that Obamacare has an ace in the hole: the insurance industry. Sure, they have their gripes:

But since 2010, they have invested billions of dollars to overhaul their businesses, design new insurance plans and physician practices and develop better ways to monitor quality and control costs.
Few industry leaders want to go back to a system that most had concluded was failing, as costs skyrocketed and the ranks of the uninsured swelled. Nor do they see much that is promising from the law's Republican critics. The GOP has focused on repealing Obamacare, but has devoted less energy to developing a replacement.
.... For many of these organizations, the prospect of new customers and a more rational system outweighs their sometimes intense irritation with the Obama administration. Insurance executives, in particular, have gnashed their teeth at the president's attacks on their industry....Despite the frustrations, most insurers remain committed to moving to a new market that would achieve the central promise of the Affordable Care Act: that all consumers can buy health plans even if they have preexisting medical conditions.

This is really a crucial point. Like it or not, the entire health care industry has spent the past three years gearing up for the rollout of Obamacare. At this point, they're committed—and doubly so since the Republican Party very clearly has no real alternative for them. This means that all the doom-mongering on Fox...

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Found on

Friday, November 22, 2013

Silica exposures in fracking : Over 60 percent of workers may be excessively exposed

Silica exposure ironically was were the original workers' compensation exposures brought into the model acts post enactment ( 40 years+) as a vehicle to shelter employers from liability exposures. Today's post is shared from the Pump Handle

At least 1.7 million US workers are exposed to respirable crystalline silica each year, this according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

These exposures occur in a variety of industries, among them construction, sandblasting, mining, masonry, stone and quarry work, and in the rapidly expanding method of oil and gas extraction known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking.

This exposure can lead to silicosis, an irreversible, and sometimes fatal, lung disease that is only caused by inhaling respirable silica dust. Silica exposure also puts exposed workers at risk of lung cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases.

It is also associated with autoimmune disorders, chronic kidney disease and other adverse health effects.

As big a number as 1.7 million is (about 200,000 more people than currently live in Philadelphia), the “true extent of the problem is probably greater than indicated by available data,” according to NIOSH.

The CDC agency has also written, there “are no surveillance data in the US that permit us to estimate accurately the number of individuals with silicosis.”

It is against this backdrop of ongoing exposures of nearly 2 million silica-exposed workers and the serious health effects, that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed a regulation to address the hazard. One provision of the proposal would update the agency’s...

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

….

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.

Found on

New Scrutiny for Medical Devices

Today's post was shared by FairWarning and comes from well.blogs.nytimes.com

Metal-on-metal replacement hips remain high-risk, but other devices are to be downgraded.

Wayne Schneider’s heart stopped beating late last year while the Minneapolis paramedic was out on an emergency call.

Another medic performed CPR for a few minutes, and then used a medical device that delivered cardiac compressions mechanically for 64 minutes, until Mr. Schneider’s heart started beating normally on its own.

“I’m not sure people would have been able to sustain manual CPR for so long,” said Mr. Schneider, 57. “I’m a lucky guy.”

Stephen Colbert Chides Walmart For Employee Food Drive

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

Earlier this week, news broke that at least one Walmart store was holding a Thanksgiving food drive -- for its own employees. Many saw this as evidence that the world's largest employer would rather rely on charity than pay a reasonable living wage.

On last night's "Colbert Report," Stephen Colbert sarcastically praised the corporate giant for sticking to its guns in offering low wages to maximize profits, although not for the food drive itself.

"Some critics out there say Walmart isn't doing enough, but they're wrong, because Walmart isn't doing anything," he said. "These bins are for Walmart employees to donate to other employees.

McDonald’s tells workers to “sing away stress,” “chew away cares” and go to church

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

McDonald’s advises its low-wage workers to try “breaking food into pieces” to feel full, and urges them to “pack your bags” for vacation, “chew away cares” with gum, “keep the faith” by going to church, and “sing away stress.”

These and other tips appear on a “McResource Line” website created by the McDonald’s Corp. to advise workers on stress, health and personal finances.

Among the tips that appear on the site: “Chewing gum can reduce cortisol levels by 16%”; “At least two vacations a year can cut heart attack risk by 50%”; “Singing along to your favorite songs can lower your blood pressure”; and “People who attend more church services tend to have lower blood pressure.”

The site also offers dietary tips for physical and mental health: “The tryptophan in cheese will increase serotonin levels and boost your mood”; “Trans fats raise the risk of depression, while olive oil can prevent the blues” and “Breaking food into pieces often results in eating less and still feeling full.” (That last one may be intended as dietary rather than budgetary advice.)

Some of those tips are featured in a new video slamming McDonald’s, released Tuesday afternoon...

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

….

Found on

Income Growth Has Stalled for Most Americans

Workers' Compensation is basically a system based on wages that determine benefits. Over the decades the spread or "inequality" of wealth has moved more workers into a lower pay class wherein they only receive the minimum rates of workers' compensation benefits despite what appears to be yearly increases in rate structures. Today's post was shared by Mother Jones and comes from www.motherjones.com

Yesterday the Census Bureau released its latest income data, confirming what millions of Americans already know: The recession may be over, but the recovery has yet to trickle down. Specifically, the Census reported that median household incomes didn't budge between 2011 and 2012.

Digging deeper into the new data reveals more evidence of the widening income gap between the rich and the rest.

The only bright side of stalled incomes is that they are no longer experiencing the steep decline that started in 2007 before the recession hit. But that's hardly cause for celebration: At $51,017, the real median household income in 2012 is even less than it was at the end of the '80s, and it's down 9 percent from its high in 1999.

This loss of real income hasn't affected all Americans equally. For the top 20 percent of earners, average incomes grew 70 percent since 1967, and they grew 88 percent for the top 5 percent. Meanwhile, middle-income households have seen their earnings grow just 20 percent in the past four decades.

This translates into a greater share of total income going to top earners. In 2012, the top 20 percent took in more than half of all income in the United States, according to the Census.

To put that into sharper focus, I've charted how each percentile's share of total income has changed since the late '60s. After experiencing significant growth in the mid-1970s, the bottom 20 percent of earners have seen their share steadily drop. Compare that...

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

….

Found on

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Occupational pulmonary case dismissed by court for lack of evidence

A New Jersey Appellate Court dismissed an occupational pulmonary claim for lack of credible evidence. The court reversed an award of 5% permanent partial pulmonary disability of a claim filed by employee loaded and unloaded baggage for US Airways.

In its decision, the court found that there was a lack of credible evidence proving both exposure as well as medical findings and factual evidence that would be able to meet the criteria to establish a claim for an occupational disability. The worker alleges that between 1987 and 2008 he worked in areas that lacked ventilation and there was an exposure to two fumes.

The petitioner testified that his condition did not affect his ability to work and that he was able to volunteer for overtime work. Over the 10 years that the claimant worked for the employer he did not report a condition to his employer, did not seek medical treatment from an allergist or a pulmonologist.

Furthermore, the medical expert who testified on behalf of of the petitioner, Dr. Malcolm Hermele, relied only upon x-ray findings demonstrating"Increased interstitial markings," and pulmonary function testing. There were no clinical signs by way of wheezing, rales or rhonchi.

Respondents medical expert, Dr. Benjamin Saperstein, reported that the physical examination of the petitioner was "perfectly normal." Dr. Saperstein also testified that Dr. Hermele’s X-ray was of poor quality.

In reviewing the record below, the appellate tribunal, concluded that the judges decision below lacked credible findings to sustain a claim for Workers’ Compensation benefits. The court focused upon the statutory authority of N.J.S.A. 34:15-36 that defines permanent disability and quality impartially character."Injuries such as minor lacerations, minor contusions, minor springs, and scars which do not constitute significant disfigurement, an occupational disease of the minor nature such as mild dermatitis and mild bronchitis show not constitute permanent disability within the meaning of this definition.”

The court relied upon the sentinel case of Fiore v. Consolidated Freightways, 140 NJ 452, 470 (1995) we're in the New Jersey Supreme Court interpret the occupational disease definition as established under N.J.S.A. 34:15-31, as "designated to compensate "diseases arising out of the workplace, and not the ordinary diseases of life.”

Anthony DiFrabrizio v US Airways, ___A.3d___, 2013 WL 601534 (NJ App. Div. 2013) docket number 8-1497-12T4

Andrea Graf, Esq. (Appellant-US Airways)

Ricky E. Bagolie, Eq. (Appellant-Anthony DiFrabrizio)

….

Found on

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Sleep Therapy Seen as an Aid for Depression

Will workers' compensation provide benefits for sleep therapy to avoid or treat depression? Today's post was shared by AJ Chavar and comes from www.nytimes.com

Curing insomnia in people with depression could double their chance of a full recovery, scientists are reporting. The findings, based on an insomnia treatment that uses talk therapy rather than drugs, are the first to emerge from a series of closely watched studies of sleep and depression to be released in the coming year.

The new report affirms the results of a smaller pilot study, giving scientists confidence that the effects of the insomnia treatment are real. If the figures continue to hold up, the advance will be the most significant in the treatment of depression since the introduction of Prozac in 1987.

Depression is the most common mental disorder, affecting some 18 million Americans in any given year, according to government figures, and more than half of them also have insomnia.

Experts familiar with the new report said that the results were plausible and that if supported by other studies, they should lead to major changes in treatment.

“It would be an absolute boon to the field,” said Dr. Nada L. Stotland, professor of psychiatry at Rush Medical College in Chicago, who was not connected with the latest research.

“It makes good common sense clinically,” she continued. “If you have a depression, you’re often awake all night, it’s extremely lonely, it’s dark, you’re aware every moment that the world around you is sleeping, every concern you have is magnified.”

The study is the first of four on sleep and...

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Found on

A Permanent Slump?

The "New Normal" is here, is workers' compensation going to adapt? Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from www.nytimes.com

Spend any time around monetary officials and one word you’ll hear a lot is “normalization.” Most though not all such officials accept that now is no time to be tightfisted, that for the time being credit must be easy and interest rates low. Still, the men in dark suits look forward eagerly to the day when they can go back to their usual job, snatching away the punch bowl whenever the party gets going.

But what if the world we’ve been living in for the past five years is the new normal? What if depression-like conditions are on track to persist, not for another year or two, but for decades?

You might imagine that speculations along these lines are the province of a radical fringe. And they are indeed radical; but fringe, not so much. A number of economists have been flirting with such thoughts for a while. And now they’ve moved into the mainstream. In fact, the case for “secular stagnation” — a persistent state in which a depressed economy is the norm, with episodes of full employment few and far between — was made forcefully recently at the most ultrarespectable of venues, the I.M.F.’s big annual research conference. And the person making that case was none other than Larry Summers. Yes, that Larry Summers.

And if Mr. Summers is right, everything respectable people have been saying about economic policy is wrong, and will keep being wrong for a long time.

Mr. Summers began with a point that should be obvious but...

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Found on

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

John Burton Reports on Workers' Compensation Insurance Industry Underwriting Results

Issue 7 of the Workers’ Compensation Resources Research Report examines the profitability of the workers’ compensation insurance industry in 2012 as reported by A.M. Best. The operating ratio, which is the most comprehensive measure of underwriting results because it considers investment income, decreased from 100.4 in 2011 to 93.8 in 2012. An operating ratio of greater than 100 indicates that the industry is not profitable, and thus the industry was unprofitable in 2011. An operating ratio of less than 100 indicates that the workers’ compensation insurance industry is profitable, and thus the industry was profitable in 2012. The operating ratio of 93.8 in 2012 means the industry earned $6.20 of profits for every $100 of net premiums.

The operating ratio has usually been less than 100 in recent decades, indicating that the workers’ compensation insurance industry has generally been profitable when investment income earned by insurance carriers is considered. Since 1993, the insurance industry has been profitable in 16 of the 19 years – all but 2001, 2002, and 2011.

An order form for Issue 7 of the WCRRR can be downloaded from www.workerscompresources.com

Is Walmart's request of associates to help provide Thanksgiving dinner for co-workers proof of low wages?

Wages set rates in workers' compensation claims. An increase in the minimum wage will result in an immediate increase in workers' compensation benefits. Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from www.cleveland.com

The Walmart on Atlantic Boulevard in Canton is collecting food for employees who can't afford Thanksgiving dinner. The company said this is proof that employees look out for one another. The group of employees who have held national strikes against the world's largest retailer says the food drive is proof Walmart doesn't pay associates enough to survive. The Organization United for Respect at Walmart, or OUR Walmart, is holding strikes against the chain at stores in Dayton and Cincinnati on Monday, Nov. 18. (courtesy of OUR Walmart)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The storage containers are attractively displayed at the Walmart on Atlantic Boulevard inCanton. The bins are lined up in alternating colors of purple and orange. Some sit on tables covered with golden yellow tablecloths. Others peer out from under the tables.
This isn't a merchandise display. It's a food drive - not for the community, but for needy workers.
"Please Donate Food Items Here, so Associates In Need Can Enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner," read signs affixed to the tablecloths.
The food drive tables are tucked away in an employees-only area. They are another element in the backdrop of the public debate about salaries for cashiers, stock clerks and other low-wage positions at Walmart, as workers in Cincinnati and Dayton are scheduled to goon strike Monday.
Chat wrap: OUR Walmart rep answers your questions about this story
Is the food drive proof the retailer pays so little that many employees can't afford Thanksgiving dinner?
Norma...

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Found on

Friday, November 15, 2013

House Considers Bills to Limit Americans’ Rights

Today's post was shared by Take Justice Back and comes from www.justice.org

House Considers Bills to Limit Americans’ Rights

Text Size

Home Newsroom AAJ News House Considers Bills to Limit Americans’ Rights

For Immediate Release: November 12, 2013

Contact: Katie Gommel
202-965-3500, ext. 6645
media.replies@justice.org

House Considers Bills to Limit Americans’ Rights

Washington, DC—The following is a statement from America Association for Justice President Burton LeBlanc in response to the passage of H.R. 982 and H.R. 2655 out of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Rules.

“Corporations should not bully Americans out of their rights to access justice.

“H.R. 982 would violate asbestos victims’ privacy and allow asbestos corporations to delay and deny justice until asbestos victims die. Asbestos kills over 10,000 Americans every year, and the industry hid the dangers for decades; the last thing this industry needs is a handout from Congress.

“H.R. 2655 is the latest favor to multinational corporations seeking to undermine the rights of American workers and consumers by adding unnecessary burdens and delays to the civil justice system. At a time when our courts are already suffering from persistent underfunding, Congress should focus efforts on improving access to justice.”

As the world's largest trial bar, the American Association for Justice (formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) works to make sure people have a fair chance to receive justice through...

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Found on

Monday, May 6, 2013

Private Sector Workers Compensation Costs Down For 7th Year

Professor Emeritus John F. Burton Jr., reports in his latest research report that private sector costs for workers' compensation costs are down for the 7th year straight. This gives rise to the next question as to whether workers' are just being denied workers' compensation benefits and the system has eroded.

"Issue 6 of the Workers’ Compensation Resources Research Report (WCRRR) examines

Professor Emeritis
John F. Burton Jr.

the employers’ costs of workers’ compensation. Part I relies on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to examined national trends from 1986 to 2012. For private-sector employers, costs dropped for the seventh year in a row and represented 1.80 percent of payroll in 2012, the lowest figure since 1986. For all non-federal employers, costs of workers’ compensation dropped to 1.79 percent of payroll in 2012, the lowest figure since the data series began in 1991.

"Part II examines BLS data on the differences in the employers’ costs of workers’ compensation due to factors such as geographical location, industry, union status, and occupations of the firm’s employees. The variations of workers’ compensation costs among industries were significant in 2012, ranging from 4.47 percent of payroll in construction to 0.63 percent of payroll in the financial industry.

Copyright

Monday, November 25, 2013

California Workers' Compensation Rates Going Up in 2014

Red Bird Express sued for allegedly refusing to rehire injured worker

Workers Compensation For Firefighters Discussed

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Wages Stagnate as U.S. Manufacturers Reap Record Profits

Obamacare Has a Friend in the Health Care Industry

Friday, November 22, 2013

Silica exposures in fracking : Over 60 percent of workers may be excessively exposed

New Scrutiny for Medical Devices

Stephen Colbert Chides Walmart For Employee Food Drive

McDonald’s tells workers to “sing away stress,” “chew away cares” and go to church

Income Growth Has Stalled for Most Americans

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Occupational pulmonary case dismissed by court for lack of evidence

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Sleep Therapy Seen as an Aid for Depression

A Permanent Slump?

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

John Burton Reports on Workers' Compensation Insurance Industry Underwriting Results

Is Walmart's request of associates to help provide Thanksgiving dinner for co-workers proof of low wages?

Friday, November 15, 2013

House Considers Bills to Limit Americans’ Rights

Monday, May 6, 2013

Private Sector Workers Compensation Costs Down For 7th Year

Get new posts by email:

Copyright

Monday, November 25, 2013

Related articles

Related articles

Related articles

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Related articles

Related articles

Friday, November 22, 2013

Related articles

Related articles

Related articles

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Related articles

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Related articles

Related articles

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Related articles

Related articles

Friday, November 15, 2013

Monday, May 6, 2013