As of Friday, Oregon workers’ compensation insurer SAIF has a brand spanking new Board – well, at least 3/5th’s of them are brand spanking new. Maurice Rahming, Jeff Stone and Jennifer Ulum were all nominated by Governor Kitzhaber and officially installed effective September 19, 2014. Let us hope at least one of them is a…
NFL Culpepper Suit Highlights Our Warped Interpretation of Disability
A hat tip to Judge David Langham, whose blog on the topic (republished on our site here) tipped me off to this story this morning. An insurance company covering the NFL has filed a lawsuit against former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Brad Culpepper alleging fraud from a California injury suit settled in 2011. Culpepper took advantage…
Small Pepperoni, Hold the Nuts
As a warning you should know that this is another risqué, adult oriented article, and you should not proceed if you are easily offended by the unvarnished truth. Plus, I’m about to ruin take out pizza for you. Sorry. The world of employment risk would certainly be easier to navigate if we didn’t have to…
With 2.1 Million Article Views, It Is My Turn to Thank SAIF
My blog recently surpassed another milestone, but this time it was more an indication of interest in a single story than a testament to my feeble vocabulary and lackluster wordsmith capabilities. Last year, on September 10, 2013, my blog proudly passed the 1,000,000 article view mark, having taken just over two years to reach that…
Saskatchewan's Mission Zero: Because One Death is Too Many
I spent much of last week in the mountains of Montana, attending and speaking at the Montana Governors' Conference on Workers' Compensation. It was a great event held at Big Sky Resort; probably one of the most beautiful conference locations I've ever attended. It also provided one of the best safety messages I've ever heard.…
Remembering 9/11, 13 Years Later – An Annual Visual Tribute
Editors Note: We originally posted this tribute in the days following the 9/11 attack in 2001, and it was viewed here by tens of thousands of people. We have re-posted it for every 9/11 anniversary to honor those who perished, and to reaffirm our commitment to “never forget”. Bob’s story below was originally published two…
Shocking SAIF Board Comment and Rocklin Defense Refusal Only Generate More Questions
The SAIF Board of Directors met yesterday in Salem, and to say they rolled out the welcome mat for unhappy employees would be a complete misrepresentation of what I am told occurred. The meeting was held in a room that would only accommodate 60 people, and only around 20 of them were made available for…
Remembering 9/11 – An Annual Visual Tribute
Editors Note: We originally posted this tribute in the days following the 9/11 attack in 2001, and it was viewed here by tens of thousands of people. We have re-posted it for every 9/11 anniversary to honor those who perished, and to reaffirm our commitment to “never forget”. Bob’s story below was originally published…
Possible Rocklin Rejection As Big Day Arrives for SAIF Employees
Today, September 10, 2014, is a big day for SAIF employees angered by the termination of John Plotkin 4 months ago. The SAIF Board of Directors meets today in Salem, at the Parkway Building at 10AM. It is the first time they have done so since Plotkin was summarily terminated in what appears to have…
The Audacity of Dope
For those of you aware of my particular political proclivities, you may be assuming this is a diatribe about current leadership issues within our nation. While my slightly to the right of Attila the Hun fiscal conservatism makes that likely, you would in this case be mistaken. Nor is this a follow up to my…