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Vol. 4, Issue 18

Find Solutions & Strategies                               May 6, 2013

ERISAOklahoma Opt Outs and ERISA
  
Has SB 1062 effectively protected state rights this time?
  
In This Issue
-OPT OUTS AND ERISA
-KENTUCKY JOCKEYS
-LARSON SPOTLIGHT: Waiver of Benefits, Intervention, Psychiatric Claim, Borrowed Employee
-FRAUD, INTERVENTION
-NATIONAL NEWS
-STATE NEWS
-eNEWSLETTER ARCHIVES
 A Note From the Editor
 Racehorse 
Dear Work Comp Community:
  
Three years ago Kentucky attorney Marcus Roland  wrote about the plight of jockeys and backside workers who lack workers' comp coverage in the Bluegrass State.
  
Unfortunately, the law still hasn't changed. For that reason, we are rerunning his article  to commemorate the 139th Kentucky Derby, May 4, 2013. Winner: Orb!

 

To sign up for this free weekly eNewsletter, click here. To read past issues, access the archives.

 

Sincerely,
Robin E. Kobayashi, JD
LexisNexis Legal & Professional Operations
oklahoma opt outs

Oklahoma Opt Outs and ERISA. Proponents of the recently passed Oklahoma workers' compensation reforms proclaim that the opt out provisions provide an alternative to the newly formed administrative system for processing injured worker claims and do not require that alternative benefit plans be subject to ERISA or other federal laws. While it is true that, unlike the 2012 proposed legislation for opt outs, there is no ERISA oversight requirement specified in the 2013 legislation, it is expected that many private employers who opt out will utilize the ERISA structure. This intertwining of federal law and state law will no doubt lead to incongruous situations. Read more.

kentucky jockeys: out of the money

Marcus Roland Churchill DownsKentucky's Thoroughbred Industry and Workers' Compensation: "Out of the Money", by Marcus Roland, Esq. The majestic thoroughbreds and rich traditions of the horse industry embody Kentucky's standing as the center of the equine universe, but some might consider the proclamation a grand fiction if it knew the plight of jockeys and backside workers injured on the job in the Bluegrass State. Read more.

larson's on waiver of benefits

Tom Robinson thumbnailNo Waiver of Benefits by Quitting Job That Offered Light Duty Work, by Thomas A. Robinson, JD. An employee does not waive his or her right to temporary total disability benefits by moving on from a job that could have accommodated medical restrictions during a period of recuperation, held the Supreme Court of Nebraska recently. The employer argued that had the employee not left his employment with the employer, the employee would have been paid wages for light-duty work in lieu of temporary total disability benefits. The Supreme Court, quoting Larson's Workers' Compensation Law, indicated that...read more about this case and other cases on Intervention, Psychiatric Claim, and Borrowed Employee.

lexisnexis workers' comp community blogs
Fraud SignWorkers' Comp Fraud Blotter: Workers' Comp Investigators Try to Trim Fraud by Landscaping Business. Read it and other news stories.
  
  
  
  
Martin KlugMissouri Supreme Court Allows V.A. to Intervene in Comp Cases, by Martin Klug, Esq. Read it.
national news
State news

AL: GOP Lawmakers Kill SB 453 Workers Comp Reform Bill

AZ: Governor Signs HB 2565 Website Posting of Insurance Policies.

CA: Assembly Passes AB 1309 to Restrict WC Claims by Out-of-State Pro Athletes.

CA: State Fund Contracts with TX, LA Firms for Hiring Insurance Investigators. 

CA: WCIRB President Describes Changes, Priorities at WCIRB.

CT: House Committee Approves 24 Hr Extension for Police Officers, Firefighters.

FL: House Passes SB 662 Repackaged Drugs Caps, Bill Sent to Governor.

FL: HB 217 Check Cashing Bill Passed by Senate, Bill Heads to Governor.

ID: Advisory Committee to Discuss Firefighter Legislation at May 8 Hearing.

IN: HB 1320 WC Benefit Increase for Injured Workers Awaits Governor's Signature.

IN: PCI Urges Governor to Sign HB 1320 Fee Schedule, Repackaged Drugs, Implants.

MD: WCC Posts Reminder to Parties re Medical Release for Medical Records.

MN: House Committee Amends HF 1359 to Cap Vocational Rehabilitation Services.

MO: House Passes Bill to Revive 2nd Injury Fund, Clarify Coverage of Occ. Disease.

NJ: DWC Makes Corrections to Oscar-Calcs Program.

NY: NFL Players Say Contract Overrides Workers Comp Laws.

NY: SWCB Posts New Minimum, Maximum Weekly Benefit Rates.

NY: S76 Would Create Presumption of PTD for Claimants Eligible for Soc. Sec. Disability.

NY: WCB Chairman Announces Impartial Specialist Program Improvements.

OH: Governor Pushes BWC to Issue $1B in Workers Comp Rebates.

OH: BWC Hires ING/Janus Cap./Wm. Blair to Run Growth Equities for State Ins. Fund.

OK: Senate Passes WC Reform Bill, Bill Heads to Governor's Desk.

OK: SB 1062's Most Significant Changes.

OK: Burton, Spieler Warn About Flaws About SB 1062 Reform Act.

OK: Lawmaker Decries SB 1062 as "Warfare Upon Oklahoma Labor".

OK: PCI Urges Governor to Sign SB 1062 Workers Comp Reforms.

OR: Senate Passes SB 678 Exclusive Remedy Protections for LLC Members.

OR: House Committee Holds Hearing on SB 533 Nurse Practitioner Services.

SD: DLR to Hold Hearing May 9 re WC Fee Schedules.

TN: Governor Signs Workers Comp Reform Bill.

TN: Lawmaker Explains Workers' Comp Reforms to Streamline, Improve System.

TN: AIA Applauds Signing of TN Workers Comp Reforms.

TN: PCI Applauds Signing of TN Workers Comp Reforms.

TX: DWC Announces Email Change, Update to Agency Web Address.

TX: DWC Announces Admin. of Tests for Physicians to Certify MMI, Perm. Impairment.

UT: Workers Compensation Fund Announces 5% Dividend in May.

WA: Special Session Could Bring Life Back to WC Bills: SB 5112, SB 5127, SB 5128.

ENEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

ArchivesTake a deep dive into our past eNewsletters for 2013 and prior...warning - some links to articles may not work...report any linking problems to Robin.E.Kobayashi@lexisnexis.com.

Apr. 29, 2013: Arthur Larson and the Rule of Law.

Apr. 22, 2013: Proposed Tax on Workers' Comp Benefits.

Apr. 15, 2013: Legal Impairment: Legalized Marijuana in the Workplace.

Apr. 8, 2013: DBA/WHCA Procedures Clarified by Benefits Review Board.

Apr. 1, 2013: Successes and Failures of Fee Schedules.

ACCESS 2010-2013 ARCHIVES AND ARTICLES LIST HERE.

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