A projected 1.3 million people will lose emergency unemployment benefits when they expire Saturday. Congress offered the extended benefits as unemployment ballooned during the Great Recession and has put off their expiration 11 times since. Renewing the long-term insurance is a top agenda item for the Senate when it convenes Jan. 6, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said. The body is expected to vote quickly on a three-month extension of the benefits. Recipients still face, at best, a delay in their checks and, at worst, a permanent end to them. When the aid expires Saturday, the unemployed will only be able to collect a maximum 26 weeks of benefits in most parts of the U.S., down from about twice as much in many states. The recession may technically be over, but for many the recovery has yet to begin. The plight of the long-term unemployed — a group the benefits are aimed at helping and whose ranks have swelled — has also proven particularly difficult to solve. Studies have shown that they are more likely to suffer mental-health setbacks and are less likely to be... |
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(c) 2010-2024 Jon L Gelman, All Rights Reserved.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Where the 1.3 million people losing unemployment aid this week live
US flu activity keeps climbing
US influenza activity kept climbing last week, as several states outside the South reported widespread cases, and the 2009 H1N1 virus continued to be the predominant strain, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Ten states reported geographically widespread flu activity, up from just four southern states the week before. The ten are Alabama, Alaska, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming. Also, six states reported high influenza-like illness (ILI) activity as measured by visits to sentinel clinics, up from four states the previous week, the CDC reported. Nationally, 3.0% of medical visits were due to ILI, compared with the national baseline of 2.0%. States with high ILI activity were Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. Another eight states cited moderate ILI activity, and the rest had low or minimal numbers. The CDC also reported a big jump in the percentage of respiratory samples that tested positive for flu: 24.1% (of 6,813 specimens), versus 17.8% a week earlier. An H1N1 season so farOf the positive specimens, more than 98% were influenza A viruses, and 2009 H1N1—the former pandemic virus, now a seasonal strain—accounted for nearly all of those that were subtyped. Only 1.8% of the positive specimens were influenza B isolates.Last week the... |
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Saturday, December 28, 2013
Experts Speak Out About The Asbestos Industry
Today's blog post is shared from Laurie Kazan-Allen and the http://ibasecretariat.org
Part I - About the Asbestos Industry
Part II - Asbestos Causes Cancer and Why Asbestos Should Be Banned
Part I - About the Asbestos Industry
Part II - Asbestos Causes Cancer and Why Asbestos Should Be Banned
….
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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N.Y. Workers’ Comp Board to Transition Established UEF Claims Management to Triad Group
The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board recently announced it will transition the management of established Uninsured Employers’ Fund (UEF) claims to the Triad Group, LLC effective Jan. 13, 2014.
Triad Group, based in Troy, N.Y., is a professional service organization providing comprehensive claims management. These claims consist of established claims where liability has been determined, and medical, and/or indemnity payments must be made. Triad will perform all claim-related functions and legal representation. Claimants who have such UEF claims, and all parties of interest, including health care providers and legal representatives, will receive individual written notice of the change in claim administrator. The Workers’ Compensation Board said the transition of claim management should have no impact on claimants receiving workers’ comp benefits. Claimants who are receiving biweekly indemnity benefits will continue receiving benefits on the same schedule currently in place. For medical and transportation reimbursement requests after Jan. 13, 2014, Form C-257, Claimant’s Record of Medical and Travel Expenses and Request for Reimbursement, must be sent to Triad for processing with a copy to the Workers’ Compensation Board. For medical services provided on or after Jan. 13, 2014, in established cases only, health care providers should send new medical reports, bills and authorization requests to Triad, and a copy to the... [Click here to see the rest of this post] |
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Senators Press Medicare for Answers on Drug Program
Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a statement that he plans to ask Medicare officials and the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services “to look into the specifics of these cases, as well as determine the extent of any program-wide vulnerabilities that may have allowed them to occur.” The committee monitors fraud in government programs.
ProPublica reporters, using Medicare’s own data, identified scores of doctors whose prescription patterns within the program bore the hallmarks of fraud. The cost of their prescribing spiked dramatically from one year to the next — in some cases by millions of dollars — as they chose brand-name drugs that scammers can easily resell.
The cost of medications prescribed by one Miami doctor jumped from $282,000 to $4 million in one year, but her lawyer said Medicare never questioned it. A Los Angeles psychiatrist said Medicare didn’t shut off his provider identification number, used to fill prescriptions, even though he claimed someone had forged his name on more than $7 million worth of them.
All told, just the schemes identified by ProPublica totaled tens of millions of dollars.
While credit card...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
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Nebraska Appeal Dismissed - Failure to Exhaust Remedies
The failure to exhaust administrative remedies terminated an appeal to Nebraska Spring court. Today's post is shared from starherald.com
The Nebraska Supreme Court dismissed an appeal Friday in a case involving a co-op employee who suffered a traumatic brain injury when he fell off a truck's flatbed.
The high court ruled that the Aurora Cooperative had filed its appeal too early, and sent the case back to a workers' compensation court for more deliberations.
John Jacobitz, of Milligan, was injured in August 2010 while cleaning up after a customer appreciation supper. Jacobitz and two other managers dropped off a grill in a company shed, and Jacobitz hopped onto the back of the flatbed truck for a ride back to the community center where the event was held, according to court records. He fell off in Ong after riding about half a block.
The dispute at trial focused on whether Jacobitz was acting within the scope of his job duties when the accident occurred. Jacobitz and the co-op disputed whether he was asked to help host the event, or whether he was told he could come if he wished. They also disputed whether the co-op or one of its vendors had sponsored the event.
A Nebraska workers' compensation judge ruled in Jacobitz's favor on Jan. 28, saying that he believed he had to attend the event for his job or that it was within his best interests to attend. The judge had not yet decided how much to award in benefits, but the co-op appealed the case.
"We conclude that the co-op has not appealed from a final order because the trial court has determined only...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
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The Nebraska Supreme Court dismissed an appeal Friday in a case involving a co-op employee who suffered a traumatic brain injury when he fell off a truck's flatbed.
The high court ruled that the Aurora Cooperative had filed its appeal too early, and sent the case back to a workers' compensation court for more deliberations.
John Jacobitz, of Milligan, was injured in August 2010 while cleaning up after a customer appreciation supper. Jacobitz and two other managers dropped off a grill in a company shed, and Jacobitz hopped onto the back of the flatbed truck for a ride back to the community center where the event was held, according to court records. He fell off in Ong after riding about half a block.
The dispute at trial focused on whether Jacobitz was acting within the scope of his job duties when the accident occurred. Jacobitz and the co-op disputed whether he was asked to help host the event, or whether he was told he could come if he wished. They also disputed whether the co-op or one of its vendors had sponsored the event.
A Nebraska workers' compensation judge ruled in Jacobitz's favor on Jan. 28, saying that he believed he had to attend the event for his job or that it was within his best interests to attend. The judge had not yet decided how much to award in benefits, but the co-op appealed the case.
"We conclude that the co-op has not appealed from a final order because the trial court has determined only...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
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Court Holds OSHA HazCom Standard Not A Bar To State Failure to Warn Claims
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has held that The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) HazCom Standard does not preempt state law, therefore allowing state lawsuits to go forward based on “failure to warn” claims.
The Court dismissed the Petition filed by the American Tort Reform Association for a definitive determination concerning Federal preemption of state court based actions. The case overrules an unpublished NJ Appellate Court decision dismissing a state based claim for “failure to warn.” Bass v. AirProducts & Chemicals Inc., et al., Docket No. A-4542-03T3, 2006 WL 1419375, May 25, 2006 (N.J. Superior A.D.), NJ Supreme Court denied certification, 907 A.2d 1014, Sept. 8, 2006.
The Court reasoned that the petition for review was, “….much to do about nothing.” The Court held, that while OSHA had no authority to issue an authoritative statement, OSHA could issue an interpretative statement that is not subject to notice and comment rulemaking under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) 5 U.S.C. § 553(b).
The HazCom Standard establishes labeling requirements for chemicals used in the workplace. 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1200(a)(2).
American Tort Reform Association v. OSHA, et al., Docket No. 12-1229 (2013 D.C. Cir.) Decided: December 27, 2013.
The Court dismissed the Petition filed by the American Tort Reform Association for a definitive determination concerning Federal preemption of state court based actions. The case overrules an unpublished NJ Appellate Court decision dismissing a state based claim for “failure to warn.” Bass v. AirProducts & Chemicals Inc., et al., Docket No. A-4542-03T3, 2006 WL 1419375, May 25, 2006 (N.J. Superior A.D.), NJ Supreme Court denied certification, 907 A.2d 1014, Sept. 8, 2006.
The Court reasoned that the petition for review was, “….much to do about nothing.” The Court held, that while OSHA had no authority to issue an authoritative statement, OSHA could issue an interpretative statement that is not subject to notice and comment rulemaking under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) 5 U.S.C. § 553(b).
The HazCom Standard establishes labeling requirements for chemicals used in the workplace. 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1200(a)(2).
American Tort Reform Association v. OSHA, et al., Docket No. 12-1229 (2013 D.C. Cir.) Decided: December 27, 2013.
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