Weblog roundup: news from fellow bloggers

December 20th, 2004 by Julie Ferguson

Lots of interesting news from our blog friends this weekend…we’ll just rely on short pointers.
CA doctor, attorneys find widespread denial of care for workers “A physician and an attorneys’ group said Thursday that efforts to overhaul California’s workers’ compensation system have led to widespread denials of care for employees who suffer job-related injuries.”
The folks at HealthLawProf Blog point to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s bimonthly report on public opinions on health care. The current report finds that health care costs top the list of Americans’ concerns and outpace concerns about quality and access of care.
Douglas Eisenhart at HR Blog posts about a UMass-Harvard study that says many area workers are misclassified. “Misclassifications enable employers to avoid payroll taxes and such mandated employee benefits as unemployment and workers’ compensation insurance … The study revealed misclassification is prevalent in a variety of business sectors. For example, 17 percent of all audited employers in transportation and utilities misclassified workers. In addition, 16.1 percent of the firms in education and health services, 14.3 percent of those in information services, 13.5 percent of the employers in professional and business services, and 11.4 percent of those in construction misclassified workers.”
Workplace injuries and illnesses in 2003. This is part 3 in a scontinuing series of reports from BLS. Thanks to LaborProf blog for the pointer.
Joe Paduda at Managed Care Matters reports on the workers compensation liability implications of the Celebrex and Vioxx fiascoes.
Ronald Ryan responds to a query about Michigan benefits available for a work-related death.
It’s nice to see that Judge Robert Vonda has retuned to the blogging scene.
Companies that ban guns put on defensive “Employers have long banned guns from the workplace as part of a violence-prevention strategy, but those policies are being tested as states pass laws making it easier for residents to carry concealed guns � in some cases, crafting legislation that strikes down employers’ attempts to keep guns off company property.”
Thanks to rawblogXport for the pointer.
Michael Fitzgibbon, our neighbor in the North conistently who runs a fine blog, reports on shift work and overtime as a health and safety issue.
Confined Space runs through The Weekly Toll which should be required reading every Monday for all of us who work in the insurance industry so we remember what this business is really all about.