For another biweekly issue of the best of the health policy blogs, Brady Augustine hosts The Boys (and Girls) of October edition of Health Wonk Review at medicaidfirstaid. Get a little baseball nostalgia with your health policy. For our neighbors in the Boston area, Brady recalls the era of Carlton Fisk, Carl Yastrzemski, Fred Lynn, Jim Rice, and Luis Tiant.
Other news notes…
ADA, RTW and the law – Failure to accommodate an injured worker as they return to the workplace can be costly. Sears is setting a $6.2 million bias case over just such an issue. Sears refused to reinstate a recovering injured worker with reasonable accommodations when he sought to return to work, and subsequently fired him. An investigation turned up more than 100 other employees who sought return to work with an accommodation, but were fired by the company.
New Mexico – “Thirty-three states, including neighboring Colorado and Arizona, already require workers’ compensation for farm workers, although some limit coverage or exempt small farms. But New Mexico’s agricultural workers fall into a job category not protected under state law.” New Mexico agricultural laborers sue for workers’ comp coverage.
Presenteeism – Is presenteeism worse than absenteeism? Roberto Ceniceros looks at new research on the issue at CompTime.
Veteran issues – Risk and Insurance has been running an excellent series on issues facing vets on their return from Iraq and Afghanistan, authored by Peter Rousmaniere. The third and most recent installment: Dealing With Scar Tissues. If you haven’t been following, catch up here:
Part 1: Wounded Back Home
Part 2: Frayed Obligations
H1N1 Virus – Jon Gelman makes the case for the urgent need for workers compensation pandemic planning, noting that in the case of emergency, the Federal government has sweeping powers under the Public Health Service Act (PHS) that could disrupt employment throughout the country. He cites a recent Harvard School of Public Health study reveals that 80% of businesses foresee severe problems in maintaining operations if there is an outbreak, and looks at what this might mean to workers comp.
Flu.gov has issued Guidance for Businesses and Employers for the Fall Flu Season. Consumer resources are available at the Consumer Insurance Blog.
Posts Tagged ‘absenteeism’
New Health Wonk Review posted; other noteworthy news
Thursday, October 1st, 2009Health Wonk Review and news roundup
Thursday, January 10th, 2008Bob Laszewski of Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review has posted the first Health Wonk Review of 2008, and it’s a good one because people had to save up their best posts over the last month since we had a short hiatus. Many entries focus on analysis of the presidential candidates’ positions on health care, which will be one of the hot-button issues for the coming election.
A deadly year for public servants – Celeste Monforton of The Pump Handle tells us that 2007 was a deadly year for law enforcement officers, with a 28 percent increase in on-the-job fatalities compared to 2006. Shooting deaths were up 33% and traffic fatalities up 10%. And Occupational Hazards reports that 115 on-duty firefighters died in 2007. Fire Administrator Greg Cade labels 2007 it “one of the most tragic years for firefighters in recent memory.”
High cost of chronic disease – An Unhealthy America – the economic burden of chronic disease – is a good reference site to bookmark. Find specific prevalence and costs by disease or by state.
From the courts – Peter Rousmaniere at Working Immigrants posts about a recent South Carolina Supreme Court ruling upholding the right for illegal immigrants to receive workers comp benefits. Courts continue to protect workers who are injured on the job, regardless of legal status. Justice James E. Moore stated that “…disallowing benefits would mean unscrupulous employers could hire undocumented workers without the burden of insuring them, a consequence that would encourage rather than discourage the hiring of illegal workers.” In making its decision, the court cited prior decisions by North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, and Minnesota.
Laptop safety – By their very design, laptops force users into awkward positions so prolonged use can result in muscular fatigue in various body parts and may lead to repetitive stress injuries. Laptop Ergonomics discusses the particular safety hazards related to using laptops and offers recommendations to help help reduce the risk of developing injuries. Hat tip to Ergonomics in the News for the pointer.
Weighty matters – Study links obesity to absenteeism – Occupational Hazards reports on a recent study that links increased rates of absenteeism to morbid obesity, putting the cost at $4.3 billion per year in the United States.