The 2022 Lockton Workers’ Compensation Survey is currently underway, and workers’ comp professionals are strongly encouraged to participate. Doing so helps all of us better understand trends and challenges in the industry. This survey will also help pinpoint topics and issues to be included in the agenda for the 2022 Complex Risk Symposium. Survey participants will receive…
Preserving Elementary Elucidations Immediately Upon Interfacing Amidst Impaired Personages
It is often said that words mean things. I’ve actually written that here on the digital pages of my blog, so it must be true. Clear, concise, communication can help overcome hurdles when dealing with challenging issues. Yet, in workers’ compensation, an industry that certainly sees its fair share of hurdles, the art of simple…
A Farewell Fifty Years in The Making, Honoring Vickie Kennedy
I attended a virtual ceremony yesterday honoring Vickie Kennedy, Assistant Director of Insurance Services at Washington Labor & Industries. Vickie retires from the agency tomorrow, after a scant 50 years of service to the agency. Vickie started with the agency in 1971. She advanced through a variety of positions and became Assistant Director of Insurance…
It Turns Out You Can Put a Price On Happiness
They say that money can’t buy happiness. That may be true, but a New Jersey University has figured out a way to put a price tag on it. Centenary University has announced it will now offer a “Master of Arts in Happiness Studies.” And it will only set students back a cool $17,700 to earn…
The Incredibly Lonely Journey
At the Colorado Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference, concluded yesterday in Colorado Springs, David “Corey” Staver presented the session “The Lonely Journey and Back Again.” Staver is an Accessibility Specialist and CEO of The David Corey Company, providing home modification services for the accommodation of people with impairment. He was the winner of a recent “CompTalks”…
What Is the True Cost of a Crappy Pallet?
Sometimes companies fail to assess the true cost of the equipment and supplies provided to employees. They look at price per unit, or some other measure of direct cost, but often fail to account for or anticipate ancillary expenses associated with an item. And the true cost may be much more than they often think.…
Colorado's Unique Regulators Roundtable
The Colorado Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference returns to an in-person venue next week, after a two-year pandemic driven hiatus. It is produced by the Colorado Division of Workers’ Compensation, headed by Director Paul Tauriello. The event, held at the venerable Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, draws hundreds of attendees from a variety of mostly western states. Every…
At SAIF, “Rules For Thee But Not For Me” May Be Baked Into The Recipe
It’s been quite some time since we wrote about SAIF Corporation, Oregon’s quasi-public state-owned workers’ compensation insurance company. Long time readers will recall we dedicated an article or two (or fifty-six) on the John Plotkin affair. In 2014, Plotkin, a newly installed CEO whose new and open policies were not apparently appreciated by the old…
The Workers' Compensation Malclassification Duck Walk
I did not create the word “malclassification.” It is a word used by the University of Wyoming Law Professor Michael Duff, during the recent ABA Mid-Winter Workers’ Compensation Conference in New Orleans. He was discussing the challenges of adequately providing worker protection in the gig economy, as well as other independent contractor scenarios. He discussed…
Playing the Workers' Comp Waiting Game Amid the Cost of "No"
I moderated a panel at the American Bar Association Mid-Winter Conference in New Orleans this past week. Our topic was concerning delays in treatment of compensable claims, with a look at the causes and consequences regarding both expense and outcomes for the industry. The panelists were Florida Judge David Langham, Defense Attorney Mike Fish of…