Alas, the cluttered desk, the symbol of my personal style and intellectual mediocrity, not to mention the brand around which I built this blog, is no more. At least for this week anyway. It may not take long for my new one to become cluttered, but there is a lot less space on this one…
When a Disastrous Day at the Airport is a mAAgic Day to Fly
I remember seeing a photo in a magazine when I was a child. It was taken in a town that had been completely devastated by a tornado. Within the photograph was, as far as the eye could see, total and utter devastation; debris and remnants of peoples lives scattered about the landscape. Near the front…
The Cold Winds of Workers' Comp Reform Are Blowing in Wisconsin
I have it on excellent authority that major changes to the Wisconsin workers' compensation system will be proposed with the release of the state's budget bill on February 3, 2015. The rumored changes are said to be significant, with some viewing it as a complete dismantling of the current workers' comp system there. In the…
New Mexico Workers' Comp, This Bud's On You
The New Mexico Court of Appeals has ruled that medical marijuana should be classified as “reasonable and necessary medical care”, and therefore must be paid for under New Mexico workers' compensation laws. And as crazy as that sounds to someone like me, the reason the injured worker was on medical marijuana in the first place…
Walking the Walk: Proper Care is Essential at Ascential Care
I’ve spent a good deal of time the last couple of years talking about a needed culture change in the workers’ compensation industry. I’ve promoted changing the verbiage we use, including renaming the industry Workers’ Recovery. I’ve been very interested in converting what has become a “process and close” mentality to that of “recover and…
Florida Supreme Court Reinforces Exclusive Remedy. For Now.
The beleaguered Florida workers' compensation system got a shot in the arm last week when Florida's highest court ruled that workers' compensation law bars injured workers from seeking additional benefits in civil court. The Florida Supreme Court delivered the decision reinforcing the concept of workers' compensation as the exclusive remedy for workers' injured in the…
Computer Savants – Reading Your Violent Workplace Emotions
Last week I wrote about the looming threat of Artificial Intelligence with a story about scientists announcing they had successfully trained a robot by showing it videos from the web. This week we learn that another rapidly advancing area of technology will soon give our computers the ability to read and understand our emotions. According…
Idiots on Ladders: Using Stupidity for Safety Awareness
It is so refreshing in this day of mind numbing political correctness to find not just an individual, but an entire organization willing to buck the trend and develop a safe haven; a place where the thought police are defied, men can be men, women can be women, and idiots, morons, boobs, dip-wads and nimnals…
Is Exclusive Remedy On The Ropes in Oklahoma?
Well, the Oklahoma experiment was fun while it lasted. Dramatic reforms there in 2013 were intended to move the state workers' compensation system from a court-based model to an administrative one. It also established Oklahoma as just the second state where employers can “opt out” of workers' comp entirely, although they are required to offer…
Beware the Selfie Obsessed Psychopathic Co-Worker
A cutting edge study just announced tells us that men who regularly post photos of themselves online scored higher on a measure for narcissism and psychopathy. The study, conducted by researchers at The Ohio State University who apparently had nothing better to do with their time, has found that men who took “Selfies” were more…