Vol. 6, Issue 36

Find Solutions & Strategies September 8, 2015

Occupational Safety Research: The Potentials and Hurdles of Using Workers' Comp Data

In This Issue

- OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY

- LARSON'S: Valley Fever, Retaliatory Firing, Nonsubscriber, Employment Status

- NATIONAL & STATE NEWS

- eNEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

A Note From the Editor

occupational safety research

The Potentials and Hurdles of Using WC Data

Roger Rabb, J.D., Special Correspondent for the LexisNexis Workers' Compensation eNewsletter

Last December at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Workers' Compensation Leaders Research Colloquium in Washington, D.C., many key leaders and stakeholders in the fields of occupational safety and workers' compensationmet to share ideas and provide input about how to best use workers' comp data for research conducted by NIOSH's Center for Workers' Compensation Studies. The broad field of 39 participants included representatives from OSHA, NIOSH, state agencies, NCCI, CNA, Liberty Mutual, AIA, RAND, and ACOEM, as well as Professor Emeritus John F. Burton, Jr. of Rutgers University and Professor Emily Spieler of Northeastern University School of Law...As noted by the colloquium participants, WC data has many strengths as a research tool...read more.

LARSON'S SPOTLIGHT ON RECENT CASES

Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., our Feature National Columnist, is the co-author of Larson's Workers' Compensation Law (LexisNexis).

Washington: Firefighter's Valley Fever Not Compensable as a Respiratory Disease. A Tacoma firefighter, who contended that he had contracted valley fever after inhaling fungal spores while responding to emergency calls on Interstate 5...read more.

Vermont: Employer's Decision to Fire Worker for Excessive Internet Use Was Not "Mere Pretext". An employer's decision to terminate an employee for excessive non-business Internet use during working hours was not a "mere pretext" where...read more.

Texas: Court Affirms Judgment on $680,000 Verdict Against Non-Subscribing Employer. In a personal injury case involving a workers' comp nonsubscriber, a Texas appellate court affirmed, for the most part, a judgment favoring an employee who sustained injuries when...read more.

Federal: 8th Circuit Says District Court in Missouri Erred in Finding FedEx Operators Were Employees as a Matter of Law. The 8th Circuit reversed a decision by a federal district court in Missouri that had ruled, as a matter of law, that delivery operators working with/for FedEx were employees...read more.

national & state news

WEDI: Only Half of States Ready for ICD-10 Switch for Work Comp Claim Purposes.

MSP Report Examines Impact of MMSEA Section 111 Reporting Requirements.

New England Governors Urge FDA to Change Opioid Warning Labels.

AK: Uber Agrees to Pay State a Fine for Unpaid Workers Compensation Insurance.

CA: WCIRB: No Amendment to January 1, 2016 Filing.

CA: OAL Approves DWC Revised Benefit Notice Regulations.

CA: Uber Drivers Win Class Certification in Federal District Court Case.

CA: Dept. of Public Health Receives Grant to Improve Safe Prescribing of Opioids.

CA: Northern California Counties Have Highest Opioid Overdoses Statewide.

CA: Governor Trying to Broker Deal With Lawmakers on Regulating Medical Marijuana.

DE: DCRB Submits Dec. 1 Residual Market Rate & Voluntary Market Loss Cost Filing.

FL: Latest OJCC Florida Bar Survey Results Released.

HI: HEMIC Directors Declare $2.75M Dividend.

IL: NCCI: No Advisory Rate and Loss Cost Filing in Illinois for 2016.

MN: Workers Comp Task Force to Meet Sept. 16.

MN: DLI Posts Latest Issue of COMPACT Newsletter.

NE: High Court Affirms Award for Assaulted Hospital Nurse With PTSD.

NH: Governor Urges Board of Medicine to Adopt Stronger Rules to Prevent Opioid Abuse.

NJ: Claim Not Time Barred When No Knowledge of Precise Nature of Medical Condition.

NJ: Transportation Company Contingent Liability for WC Added to Exportable List.

NM: NCCI Recommending 6.2 Percent Cut in Workers Comp Rates.

NY: WCB Posts Latest Hearing Schedule.

OK: NCCI Files Overall Loss Cost Decrease of 14.8 Percent.

OK: WCC Blasted for Letting Businesses Slide for Failure to Carry WC Coverage.

OR: DCBS Reports 19,742 Disabling Claims for Year 2014.

PA: BWC Posts 2014 Annual Report.

RI: Governor Announces Plan to Fight Workplace Fraud, Worker Misclassification.

SC: WCC Posts Reminder About Modified Fee Schedule Eff. Sept. 1.

TX: Dept. of Insurance Posts Legislative Implementation Plan.

TX: ACE Fined $250K by Dept. of Insurance for Workers Comp Violations.

VT: US DOL, VT Labor Dept. Sign Agreement to Fight Worker Misclassification.

VT: Auditor Blasts State Agencies for Inaction on Worker Misclassification.

ENEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

Take a deep dive into our past eNewsletters for 2015 and prior...warning - some links to articles may not work...report any linking problems to Robin.E.Kobayashi@lexisnexis.com.

August 31, 2015: Impact of OSHA Developments on Workers' Comp.
August 24, 2015: Nanoparticles in the Workplace.
August 17, 2015: A Healthier Workforce.
August 10, 2015: Remote Work Policy.
August 3, 2015: Injuries Sustained During Pre- or Post-Offer Employment Testing.

ACCESS 2010-2015 ARCHIVES AND ARTICLES LIST HERE.

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