We know that safety in the workplace is an important topic. Over the years employers and workers have been inundated with requirements designed to help maintain a safe and healthy environment on the job. Many of the labels and procedures now in place are often blinding glimpses of the obvious; yet too many people ignore…
Redux: Workers' Recovery and The State of the Onion Address
This blog post was first published on February 1, 2018, following that year’s Presidential State of the Union Address. Much of it is still relevant, and since Bob’s post for today was inadvertently torn up by Nancy Pelosi, we have chosen to offer it again. __________________________________ Legislators, Regulators, Judges and Fellow Citizens of the Workers’…
As Colorado 911 Center Presumption Bill Advances, Dispatchers Nationwide Joining Ranks of First Responders
A bill we first discussed a few months ago appears to be advancing through the Colorado legislature that would grant workers’ compensation mental health benefits to Emergency Center Dispatchers. While the effort to include 911 dispatchers into the growing world of special protections for first responders is actually going on nationwide, Colorado seems to be one of the few…
Breakthrough Allows Robots to Sweat; Can Wrenching Their Back and Filing a Claim be Far Behind?
We get a lot of press releases here at WorkersCompensation.com. It is understandable, as our news center serves between 20,000 and 40,000 article views every day. We are on the radar of PR people and others who mass distribute releases hoping to get their information out into the workers’ compensation marketplace. Some of them are…
Serial Poopers Present a Problem for Workers' Comp
An article last week inadvertently exposed a little discussed issue for the world of workers’ compensation. A woman, who allegedly defecated in a business parking lot eight times in a month was finally caught. She is a suspected “serial pooper,” and has earned the nickname the Parking Lot Pooper. She was finally caught – uh –…
Futuristic Advice As Good Today As the Day It Was Written
I started the morning by intending to write a follow up to Bruce Burk’s article published last Monday discussing changes Uber is making in response to the new AB5 legislation in California. I’ve extensively discussed the challenges to the gig economy over the last few years, both in this blog and in presentations around the nation. While…
Wake Up, People. Sleep Is Found To Be Important.
Nancy Grover reported Friday on a ground-breaking study that found – wait for it – sleep is important when it comes to safety. While many of us have suspected for years that somehow sleep was associated with rest and restoration, there has finally been a (likely taxpayer funded) study to eliminate any doubt. The research…
When Al Roker Truncates Your Eloquence
It feels that, between my father’s 100th birthday and the passing of my father in law in recent weeks, I have been writing a great deal about personal things in my life. You will have to forgive me as I seek your indulgence one more time. After all, it is not often Al Roker truncates your…
Will Virginia Join the First Responder Presumption Parade?
This past December, findings of a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) study that reviewed Virginia’s Workers’ Compensation System and Disease Presumptions was released. To no one’s surprise, the study found that “too often information about workers compensation is unclear, confessing that recommendations and several changes should be made to the current laws.” It also…
Stupid Questions Might Make Me A Wealthy Man
A story has gone viral this week about a restaurant in Denver, Colorado that charged a customer .38 cents for asking a stupid question. The patron posted a copy of his bill from Tom’s Diner online, which reads, “1 Side Mashed Potatoes $2.99, 1 Chick Tenders Basket $9.00, 1 Stupid Question $0.38.” The restaurant points out that…