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Vol. 4, Issue 19

Find Solutions & Strategies                               May 13, 2013

Pakistan Garment Factory FireKilling Our Workers
  
West Fertilizer Explosion, Worker-Killing Sweatshops & the Absence of Workplace Safety 
  
In This Issue
-WEST, TEXAS
-SWEATSHOPS
-LARSON SPOTLIGHT: Premises Doctrine, Intentional Tort, Occupational Disease, Covered Situs
-WCRRR MAY 2013
-NATIONAL NEWS
-STATE NEWS
-eNEWSLETTER ARCHIVES
 A Note From the Editor
Dear Work Comp Community:
  
The image in our headline depicts the victims of the tragic garment factory fire in Baldia Town, Pakistan, Sept. 12, 2012.  

 

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
west, texas explosion

Stephen EmbryI Walked Out Into West, Texas, by Stephen Embry, Esq. On April 17, 2013 an explosion at the West Chemical and Fertilizer Co., registering 2.1 on the Richter scale, leveled the plant and much of the surrounding town of West, Texas. The explosion was so powerful and destructive that it created a cloud of confusion as well as a swath of death and destruction. Initial reports indicate that at least 14 people were killed and hundreds injured. Many of the dead included firemen and medical personnel, who had rushed to the scene to control the fire just before the explosion. The actual toll may rise as searchers sift though the destruction. Read more.

worker-killing sweatshops

David BaconLaundering the Public Image of Worker-Killing Sweatshops, by David Bacon, Truthout Analysis. "At the Ali Enterprises garment sweatshop in Pakistan in 2011, 300 people burned to death - the largest factory fire in world history. Last year in Bangladesh workers jumped from the windows of the burning Tazreen factory because the doors were locked, falling to the pavement below as their sisters had done in the notorious Triangle Shirtwaist fire in New York City in 1911. In the Foxconn plant in China, where the iPads and iPhones are assembled, workers were pushed so hard that they began to kill themselves in 2010." Read more.

larson's on premises doctrine

Tom Robinson thumbnailExtended Premises Doctrine Applied to Slip and Fall Case, by Thomas A. Robinson, JD. A registered nurse, who slipped and fell on a sidewalk that extended from a parking lot to an office building where her employer and a number of other tenants rented space, sustained a compensable injury that arose out of or in the course of her employment, held a Virginia appellate court recently. Quoting Larson's Workers' Compensation Law...read more about this case and other cases on intentional tort, occupational disease, and covered situs.

workers' compensation resources research report, issue 6, may 2013

An order blank for Issue 6 of the WCRRR can be obtained by writing to John F. Burton, Jr. at [email protected].

 

Issue 6 of the Workers' Compensation Resources Research Report (WCRRR) examines the employers' costs of workers' compensation. Part I relies on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to examined national trends from 1986 to 2012. For private-sector employers, costs dropped for the seventh year in a row and represented 1.80 percent of payroll in 2012, the lowest figure since 1986. For all non-federal employers, costs of workers' compensation dropped to 1.79 percent of payroll in 2012, the lowest figure since the data series began in 1991.  Read more.

national news
State news

AR: New Rules re Carrier Premium Tax Auditing Eff. 7/1/13.

CA: DWC Posts Slides From Maximus Meeting re IBR, IMR Communications.

CA: CalChamber Warns SB 556 Undermines Independent Contractor Status.

FL: Legislature Passes HB 1191 to Fix Captive Insurance Laws.

FL: HB 553 Workers Comp Clean Up Bill Ordered Enrolled.

FL: Governor Announces Appointment of JCC, Reappointment of 4 JCCs.

HI: HB 152 Medical Fee Schedules Passed by Legislature.

HI: HB 144 Professional Employer Organizations Passed by Legislature.

ID: Industrial Commission Adopts New Judicial Rules of Practice & Procedure.

IL: SB 1847 re Exclusion of EMTs, Paramedics, OK'd by Labor & Commerce Comm..

IL: SB 2339 re Joint Self Insurance Pools Approved by Insurance Committee.

IL: SB 2306 Social Media Privacy Employer Restrictions OK'd by Judiciary Comm..

IL: HB 1047 Social Media Privacy Employer Restrictions Pending in Subcommittee.

KS: Dept of Labor Launches Workers Comp Website With Latest Board Decisions.

LA: HB 728 Would Amend Procedures for Disputed Claims for Medical Benefits.

MD: SB 65 re Electronic Delivery of WCC Decisions Signed by Governor.

MT: State Fund Lowers Rates for Policy Year 2014.

NJ: A-4014 Eliminating WC Reporting for Certain Employers OK'd by Assembly Panel.

NJ: S-1778 First Responder Bill Approved by Senate Labor Committee.

NJ: S-1469 Surviving Spouses of Deceased First Responders Passed by Legislature.

NY: WC Law Favoring Construction Workers Blamed for Doubling Insurance Rates.

OH: BWC to Hold Hearing June 3 re Lump Sum Advancements.

OH: BWC to Hold Hearing June 3 re Claim Procedures Subsequent to Allowance.

OK: Governor Signs Historic Workers Comp Bill - SB 1062.

OR: SB 533 Would Extend Period for Injured Worker Treatment by Nurse Practitioner.

OR: WCD Updates List of Registered Vocational Rehabilitation Providers.

OR: WCD Releases Latest Workplace Fatality Report.

TX: HB 3152 Certified Workers Comp Network Passed by House.

TX: West Fertilizer's Liability Insurer Provided Only $1M in Coverage.

TX: Texas Mutual Board Approves $175M Policyholder Dividend.

TX: HB 1468 Would Make Carrier Communications w/Covered Employers Confidential.

WA: L&I Proposes Changes re Classification, General Reporting, Retrospective Ratings.

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 [email protected].

May 6, 2013: Oklahoma Opt Outs and ERISA.

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.

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