Injured workers involved in a workers’ compensation claim often receive notice from the Department of Labor and Industries instructing them to schedule and complete an independent medical examination (IME). The reason cited by L&I, as well as many other private insurance companies, is that the IME allows a doctor other than the worker’s primary provider to give their opinion about the worker’s medical condition. Yet in reality, the independent medical examination can often be a … [Read more...]
Part two in our Labor Day series. In our recent post on the working poor in America, we discussed our broken economy’s inability to provide enough decent jobs for millions of Americans who are unemployed, underemployed, uninsured, or living in poverty. As we celebrate Labor Day this coming weekend, our second installment further examines this issue, along with recent responses to the crisis by labor organizations and the Catholic Church. A Call for Economic Renewal and Support for … [Read more...]
As parents in Sacramento, CA, put children to bed earlier this week, planes flying overhead doused a 30,000-acre area with blanket of pesticides. The target of the repeated aerial spraying: mosquitoes. An increasing number of mosquitoes carry the West Nile virus, but many citizens, environmentalists and health advocates are alarmed about hazardous exposure to synthetic chemicals – potentially resulting in cancer, disorders in brain development, hormone disruption, respiratory problems – … [Read more...]
L&I makes significant payments for workplace injuries each year, with the biggest amount going to employees injured in major accidents involving machinery or construction injuries. But one of today’s fastest-growing costs is payouts for strong painkillers, including many to workers who have to leave work for months or even years. Some never return, but remain on medication. Nationally, workplace insurers spend nearly $1.4 billion on narcotic painkillers each year. But they … [Read more...]
As Americans celebrate the 75th anniversary of the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge, many are reflecting back on sweeping changes in workplace safety since the 1930s. Workers who built the high-steel bridge understood a grim rule of thumb in those days: on average, one worker would die on the job for every million dollars spent on the construction project. Yet chief engineer Joseph Strauss wanted his project to be the exception. Strauss invested hundreds of thousands of Depression-era … [Read more...]
