Last week I wrote a tongue in cheek article about why more men are killed by lightning while on the job than women. It prompted a polite and informative email from John Jensenius, a Lightning Safety Specialist at the National Weather Service, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), providing me with a study he had…
Announcing "Hug a Public Sector Employee Day"
I received an email last week after posting my column entitled “Vetoing Public Service Presumptions in New Jersey“. In that article I discussed the veto of a bill in New Jersey that would have extended special workers’ compensation benefits to public sector employees. I also conveyed my general frustration with some of the general benefits…
@GoDaddy or No Daddy? (Or, Why Our Domain is Not for Sale)
Some of you who visited this website Friday might have been greeted with a placeholder page telling you that WorkersCompensation.com was “Being hosted free” at GoDaddy.com. That page also had a button where GoDaddy would help you buy our domain name. Some of you may be wondering how that could happen. I am wondering the…
Disability Blankets for the Thumb Sucking Masses
The only real surprise to me with this story is that it hasn't received bigger play in the workers' compensation blogosphere. The discussion may be out there, but I seem to have missed it. A study released this past week shows that recipients of federal disability checks often admit that they are capable of working…
Why Men are More Likely to be Killed by Lightning (on the Job)
I really have no directly citable evidence that more men than women are killed by lightning while on the job; rather I have a correlated argument for that assertion. As a bonus, I think I know why that is the case. A study just released shows that an overwhelming percentage of US lightning strike deaths…
Unexpected Confessions of a Medicaid Scammer
Stealing can be tough and dirty work, and dag nab it, people within the realm of that profession expect their fair due. So, what does one do, when they have partnered with another, endeavored to deceive and then have the partner fail to pay them their due? Why, the answer seems obvious. You file a…
Predicting the Future of Workers' Comp with the Obamacare Call Centers
I wish to be plainly transparent with my bias before we start. I believe The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare, was poorly conceived, poorly written, shoddily legislated, and has been poorly executed to date. I predict that Obamacare will be a debacle of epic proportions, actually resulting in fewer adequately…
Please Respond to the HSA Opioid Survey
Health Strategy Associates has launched an Opioid Survey for the workers' compensation industry. It appears to be a comprehensive effort to better understand use, utilization and understanding of opioids within the workers' compensation industry. I would recommend that all of us commit a few minutes out of our day to contribute our knowledge and experience…
Fighting My Colonoscopy in the Year of Hellness and Wealth
This was supposed to be the year of Wellness and Health, but it doesn’t seem to be working out that way. More like hellness and wealth, sans the wealth part. We started the year with an intent to blog about various ways to stay healthy in the workplace, and help influence a healthier workforce. However,…
Vetoing Public Service Presumptions in New Jersey
The position of public servant has certainly been in the public eye the last several years. Often the last to feel the bitter effects of recession or cutbacks, they seem to scream the loudest when the pain, or perceived pain, finally reaches them – or threatens to reach them. Just this week, in a story…