Obama’s election & employment law, insurance, worker safety – Stephanie Thomas of The Proactive Employer posts about Obama’s Next Four Years: What It Means for HR and Employment Law. Daniel Schwartz of Connecticut Employment Law Blog weighs in with Four Potential Employment Law Impacts of Obama’s Next Four Years. Paul Secunda of Workplace Prof Blog posts about the 2012 Election and the fate of state labor law Initiatives, and John Hyman of Ohio Employer’s Law Blog says that it just doesn’t matter: “You should still follow the golden rule. You should still treat employees with dignity and respect. You should still pay employees for all the hours they work. You should still avoid discrimination, and harassment, and retaliation.” At Property Casualty 360, Arthur Postal weighs in on The Election’s Impact on Insurance Issues, and from the public policy and worker safety perspective, Celeste Monforton of The Pump Handle offers a worker safety wishlist for Obama’s second term.
Medical privacy – Roberto Ceniceros of Business Insurance reports on a Georgia Supreme Court ruling that gives employer access to health information from an injured worker’s treating physician. “The case of Arby’s Restaurant Group Inc. et al. v. McRae overturns an appeals court’s 2011 ruling that held an employees is not required to authorize such communications in order to receive workers comp benefits.” Dave DePaolo discusses this case in his post Privacy and Elections – Cultural Expectations
Texas pill mills – Dozens of health licenses surrendered in pill mill raids – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and 14 local and state agencies have conducted and eight-month probe of pill mills in Texas, which they called Operation King of the Pill. “The raids have already forced three doctors, five pharmacies, four physician assistants and 13 advanced nurse practitioners to surrender their federal licenses for dispensing controlled substances.”
Comorbidities – Study finds that heart issues hit employers’ bottom lines – “Robert Page, an associate professor with the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, found that lost productivity costs from acute coronary syndrome range from about $7,943 for short-term disability claims to about $52,473 for long-term ones. / The report argued that heart problems should be considered a chronic health condition alongside diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure.”
New York scaffolding sweep – According to Occupational Heath & Safety, “Top officials of two New York City departments recently announced their personnel had made 30 arrests while confiscating fraudulent scaffold certification and U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety cards at construction sites in four boroughs. Rose Gill Hearn, commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation, and Buildings DOB Commissioner Robert D. LiMandri said Oct. 25 that the two-week sweep confiscated more than 70 cards. These are required to work on scaffolding and for workers at major buildings in the city.” Scaffolding is an ongoing public and worker safety issue in New York. (See: NY scaffolding: one miracle survivor saved by physics; others not so lucky)
Noteworthy news
- Paduda: Providers’ Unmitigated Gall
- Rousmaniere: The Age Trap
- Rate of Non-Fatal Workplace Injuries Unchanged BLS Reports
- Hurricane Sandy Recovery Toolkit
- OSHA urges safety during Sandy cleanup
- Perspectives on Sandy from PC360’s Hoboken Staff
- Joint Pain in the Workplace
- Recognize and Reduce Manual Pushing and Pulling Hazards
- One Woman’s Drug-Resistant TB, Echoing Around the World
- 7 Early Warning Signs of Substance Abuse on the Job
- Fourteen Things to Start Your Work Day
Tags: election, employment law, enforcement, privacy
