I will be the first to tell you that those of us engaged in coordinating the Workers’ Compensation Summit have been completely overwhelmed the past couple months. The Summit, if you are unaware, is the ongoing effort driving the “National Conversation” for the workers’ compensation industry, looking to identify weaknesses and promote positive change for…
New Reports in October: Are the Feds Positioning to Oversee Workers’ Comp?
There has been a lot of speculation in our industry about the Federal Government’s appetite for intervening in the world of workers’ compensation. While most pundits and many influential professionals have steadfastly maintained that it will “never happen”, I have been the contrarian voice on the matter. I have postulated that the Federal government could…
Hypocrisy Alert – Union Fights Unionization of Union Organizers
I love a good conundrum, especially when it highlights sheer hypocrisy. Most people are aware of the ongoing protests this past year regarding the “Fight for $15” movement. Fast food restaurants and big box retailers have been targeted during these protests, allegedly showing their employees fighting for “living wage” of $15 per hour. I have…
When Health Insurance Gives You the Florida Blues
I’ve been dealing with an issue this past couple weeks here in Florida that might just give a small taste of the frustration an injured worker feels when an important medical procedure is denied by the insurance carrier responsible for their claim. The irritation is centered around two distinct areas; a denial with which they…
Opt Out Decision Raises More Questions
As we reported yesterday, the Oklahoma Supreme Court declared the Opt Out system in that state unconstitutional. In the 7-2 decision the justices found that the system creates separate classes of injured worker which violated the rights of citizens in the state. The court did determine that existing claims that were being managed under opt…
Respect Diversity, Celebrate Commonality
Recently, I ran into an insurance professional at a conference. Our discussion turned to the National Conversation and this professional’s criticism of the 2016 Workers’ Compensation Summit’s lack of “diversity.” While their attitude towards the project was positive, they indicated that, looking at a roster of the attendees, that the Summit was essentially “old and white”.…
Oregon Court of Appeals Reverses Rocklin Removal from Plotkin Suit
The Oregon Court of Appeals today issued an order reversing and remanding a lower court decision that removed former SAIF CEO Brenda Rocklin as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by her successor, John Plotkin. Saying that “the trial court erred in concluding that [Plotkin] failed to establish a probability that he will prevail on…
The NWCDN Road Show Hits Chicago and I Won’t Miss It This Year
Admittedly, saying that you are headed to Chicago to spend two days with lawyers from up to 47 states doesn’t sound like a rockin’ good time. I would suggest to you, however, that in the case of the National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network (NWCDN), you just haven’t met these particular lawyers. The group, whose seminars…
Social Media, an Anniversary and Reflections
Later this month, September 27th, will mark the completion of 17 years as CEO of WorkersCompensation.com. I had not given it much thought, but starting this past Sunday, my email inbox started filling with messages from business social media site LinkedIn. At first I thought they were being generated by spammers. They were largely generic;…