A workers’ compensation bill in Utah has generated quite the unexpected controversy. HB 16, which has cleared the Utah house and is now apparently sailing through the Senate, is intended to allow Utah firefighters to be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if they are injured while fighting fires in other states. Opponents of the measure, however,…
When You're a Hammer, and Everything is a Nail
I was interviewed earlier this week by Greg Hamlin and Michael Gilmartin for their podcast, “Adjusted.” Recorded for release in a few weeks, it was a fun and entertaining experience. Those two probably missed their calling. They made it a very easy process. One of the questions I was asked was related to the workers’…
And Don't Forget to Take Your Arm!
Two public workers who were performing sidewalk maintenance in Lewiston, Maine are being hailed as heroes this week after encountering a severely injured man stumbling down the street toward them. It appeared his arm had been completely severed near the shoulder. They could tell it was a very recent injury, as he was carrying his…
Florida Public Health Doctor Nabbed Over Stab Regarding Jab (Or is That Jab Regarding Stab?)
It would seem when the Florida Legislature and Governor Ron DeSantis say that an employee’s vaccination status is nobody’s business, they mean it. A physician and top official of the Florida Department of Health has been placed on administrative leave after he criticized the agency’s staff over their low Covid vaccination rate. The epidemiologist is said to…
Should CompBob! Return?
It is not a question we ever anticipated asking, but, like a bad penny, the topic of CompBob! seems to routinely pop up from time to time. We finally decided that we should put it to a public vote, settling the issue once and for all. Should CompBob! be returned to our website? But first,…
Supreme Court Review of Washington Comp Law Regarding DOE Site Could Sting the Taxpayer
In 2018 Washington State passed HB 1723, which provides a rebuttable presumption that any present, past, or future worker at the Hanford Nuclear site who suffers “one of hundreds of covered illnesses,” may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. They do not need to show that the worksite was the reason for their illness. It…
Pennsylvania Streamlines Workers' Comp. Sort Of.
Legislation being hailed for allowing faster workers’ compensation claims settlements was signed into law last week by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf. It changes the requirements regarding the signing of legal paperwork for those workers eligible for a C&R – a Compromise and Release settlement. Currently, workers eligible for a C&R must have two witnesses see them sign…
This On-the-Job Illness Doesn't Pass the Smell Test
Every once in a while a story crosses the Cluttered Desk that eventually forces me to apologize to someone somewhere for their offended sensitivities. This particular tale, however, is prompting me to apologize in advance to anyone whose feathers may be ruffled by the content contained herein. Remember, I am simply the messenger; granted a…
I've Heard of Team Building, But I'd Take a Pass on This
Bill Howley, general manager of TEN 3, a restaurant at the top of Sandia Peak in Albuquerque, NM, said a recent experience he and his employees went through had its positive points. On December 31st he and 18 of his employees were “rushed out of the restaurant around 8:45 p.m. due to increasingly bad weather.”…
2022 Marks 50 Years Since National Commission on Workmen's Compensation Report: Planning Committee Established to Commemorate Event
In 1971, President Richard M. Nixon established a national commission to review the state of workers’ compensation programs across the nation. The commission, chaired by Professor John F. Burton, Jr., delivered their “Report Of The National Commission Of State Workmen’s Compensation Laws” to the President and Congress on July 31, 1972. It made 84 recommendations for…