An article in NPR yesterday reports that “Ten ranking Democrats on key Senate and House committees are urging the Labor Department to respond to a ‘pattern of detrimental changes in state workers’ compensation laws' that have reduced protections and benefits for injured workers over the past decade.” The letter, addressed to Labor Secretary Thomas Perez,…

I get tired of talking about “can't”, and the workers' compensation system sometimes seems hell bent on it. We can't simplify the claims system. We can't humanize the process. We can't convince people that getting back to work is best for them. And we can't convince employers they need their injured back.  We can't seem…

ProPublica, the news organization that last spring electrified the workers' compensation industry with a series of scathing reports, has turned its sights on the world of Opt Out, and is reporting that, for employees subject to that system, things are not as Disneyesque as promoters would have us believe. The highly detailed report was published…

I’ve written previously about hosting the Sertoma Sarasota Celebrity Roast. It is an annual fundraiser I run for the benefit of children with speech and hearing issues. This year, for those of you on the Florida Gulf Coast, we will be roasting local legend Les McCurdy, of McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre. In addition. we will be…

At least two separate, yet similar editorials ran in Tennessee publications this week lambasting the effort to implement Opt Out in the state. Both articles essentially contend that the Opt Out scheme being proposed holds “threatening consequences for the state, its business environment, businesses and workers.”  Can't say I disagree with them. One editorial appeared…

In the interest of fairness and full disclosure, I have been a bit under the weather since returning from a business trip to California last week. Traveling extensively can expose people to increased risks of illness, and I have been very fortunate the last couple years that I have not suffered any ill effects from…

It can be said at times that the most effective training lesson can be accomplished by showing people what not to do. And when that demonstration results in a bone crushing near death experience, you can be certain that the trainees in your charge will be taking voluminous mental notes in order to protect themselves…

I have been wanting to write this article for a few days, and in fact intended to do so next week. However, a session yesterday at the California Workers’ Compensation and Risk Conference in Dana Point, CA, has compelled me to do so now. The panel, assembled to discuss the current status of workers’ compensation…