WASHINGTON — Beginning Jan. 1, 2004, employers will be required to check a hearing loss column to record work-related cases meeting the new recording criteria established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The new criteria go into effect in 2003.

Under the new criteria, employers will record 10-decibel shifts from the employee's baseline hearing test when they also result in an overall hearing level of 25 decibels.

OSHA is also postponing for one year three provisions related to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs); the rule's definition of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), consideration of MSDs as privacy concern cases, and requirements to check a MSD columns on the OSHA Log.

The delay does not effect an employer's obligation to record workplace injuries and illnesses or keep workplaces free from hazards. However, employers will not be required to use an MSD definition to categorize cases on the OSHA Log for calendar year 2003. Instead, they must check the column for "injury" or "all other illness" depending on the circumstances of the case.

OSHA also clarified three matters relating to recording occupational hearing loss in conjunction with the final rule: audiometric tests for workers in the shipbuilding industry; computation of a standard threshold shift for determining recordable hearing loss, and how OSHA will treat an expected increase in the number of recorded cases resulting from new recordkeeping definitions requirements.

Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration

COLUMBUS — Responding to consumer concerns regarding the Dec. 17 bankruptcy filing of Indiana-based Conseco, Inc., a holding company with several subsidiary insurance and finance companies, Holly Saelens, interim director of the Ohio Department of Insurance, today reassured Ohio consumers that the Conseco-related insurance entities are financially sound and able to pay claims going forward.
Conseco’s voluntary petition for reorganization excludes all of Conseco’s insurance companies and other entities controlled by the parent company. Insurance companies are not permitted to file bankruptcy, and instead are governed by state laws that provide substantial financial protection for their policyholders.
Insurance regulators in Ohio and in states where Conseco-related insurers are domiciled (AZ, IL, IN, NY, PA, TX) have been closely monitoring the financial health of Conseco for the past two years and at this time believe that the 13 insurance companies under the Conseco corporate umbrella maintain adequate capital and liquidity to meet obligations to policyholders and are clearly able to conduct business as usual, despite the bankruptcy filing.

Source: State of Ohio

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY – On December 19, 2002, a Lathrop woman was arrested on insurance fraud charges as a result of an investigation conducted by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) Criminal Investigations Branch’s Fraud Division.
Kathryn Marie Corso, 53, was arrested at her residence and booked into the San Joaquin County Jail on two felony counts of insurance fraud, one count of grand theft and one count of perjury. Bail was set at $25,000. If convicted, Corso could face up to five years in state prison and/or a maximum fine of $50,000. The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting this case.
According to investigators, Corso filed a workers’ compensation claim with the American Protection Insurance Company for shoulder, wrist and hand injuries. Corso claimed her injuries prevented her from performing self-grooming functions. Subsequent to an investigation, Corso was videotaped performing physical activities beyond her medical restrictions. Corso allegedly made material misrepresentations to the insurance company and medical doctors about her ability to perform various physical activities. Corso’s treating doctor and a Qualified Medical Examiner were deposed by American Protection Insurance Company after they had a chance to evaluate Corso’s true physical abilities. Both medical doctors indicated that Corso exaggerated her limitations and changed their opinions as to her disability. As a result of Corso’s material misrepresentations, American Protection Insurance Company paid $36,000 on this claim.

Source: State of California

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator (FMCSA) Joseph M. Clapp announced Moving Kids Safely, a nationwide effort to increase the use of safe bus companies for transporting school children to sporting events, field trips, and other extracurricular activities. .
As recent as June 2002, drug use, fatigue and inattention contributed to a bus crash that killed the driver and four teenagers and injured dozens of people traveling to a church camp about 30 miles east of Dallas. Based upon completing a safety compliance review, FMCSA fined the bus company for violating federal motor carrier safety and placed it out of service for being unsafe. The company is no longer operating. Information about federal enforcement action regarding this case is on the Internet at www.fmcsa.dot.gov.
While most people would agree that the selection process for choosing a safe bus company to transport children to extracurricular events should be a top priority, some do not have the necessary information to make the best choice or know where to get it. Too often, bus companies are hired for reasons based primarily on the cost of transportation.
Moving Kids Safely promotes the identification and use of safe bus companies for extra-curricular school activities. It encourages those responsible to find answers to important safety questions, when searching for a bus company, including:

• Does the company have authority to transport passengers in interstate commerce?
  
  
• What are the company’s accident history, safety rating, and insurance status?
  
  
• Do company drivers possess current commercial driver’s licenses with a “passenger” endorsement and valid medical certificates?
  
  
• Will the trip be completed within legal driving time limits?
  

Source: Department of Transportation

Company will pay $775,000 in fines, investigative costs The settlement is the outcome of an 18 month Department of Commerce market conduct examination of State Farm.

Auto Insurance - No Fault independent medical examinations

Based on a review of more than 2,000 claim files, Commissioner Bernstein alleges that State Farm violated provisions of Minnesota's No Fault insurance law. The Personal Injury Protection (PIP) portion of an auto insurance policy is often referred to as "No Fault" coverage. The law requires the policyholder's insurance company to pay all reasonable medical expenses, regardless of who is at fault in an accident. The Minnesota No Fault law was established to help reduce the number of lawsuits and to ensure prompt treatment for accident victims.

Commissioner Bernstein alleges that State Farm pressured independent medical examiners to change their opinions to reduce PIP claim costs.

Homeowners Insurance - Utility Rating Plan

Commissioner Bernstein alleges that State Farm's Utility Rating Plan (URP) violates Minnesota insurance law. URP is a rating system of discounts and surcharges used by State Farm on homeowner policies. State Farm claimed that its URP was based on the age of the home's electrical system, when in fact it was based on the age of the home. In an effort to prevent "redlining" (discrimination based on geographic location), state law prohibits insurance companies from charging higher premiums based solely on the age of the home.
Under the terms of the settlement, State Farm agrees to continue the discount but stop surcharging for the next policy period. Premiums on homes that are 40 years old or older will be reduced by 3-18% after the surcharge has been removed. Currently, there are 149,510 Minnesota State Farm policyholders that are being surcharged under the URP.
In addition, if State Farm elects to implement a new URP that would impose surcharges, it must comply with Minnesota law by providing supporting actuarial data based on the age of the home's utilities.
While denying the Department's allegations, State Farm has agreed to pay $75,000 in investigative costs in this matter.
For more information click here.

Source: State of Minnesota

The Texas Department of Insurance issued a letter to the top 10 companies writing homeowners insurance in Texas requesting a voluntary rate filing by January 02, 2003. TDI is also asking each company to include supporting information to justify their current rates or any planned rate changes. This information will be in addition to information already obtained in ongoing market conduct examinations.
"We are asking insurance companies to voluntary provide their rating information so that TDI can give the legislature a clear, up-to-date picture of the current Texas homeowners market," said Commissioner Jose Montemayor. "In addition to the rate filing, we are also asking the companies to provide supporting documentation to justify their current rates and any planned future rate changes."
At the request of Governor Perry, the Texas Department of Insurance began market conduct examinations in February into the homeowners insurance pricing practices of Farmers, State Farm, and Allstate. The information requested today will be in addition to information already received and will include any changes since early 2002.

Source: State of Texas

WASHINGTON — The Federal agencies charged with protecting workers, and building and supporting the nation's emergency management system today jointly sponsored a daylong summit to address issues affecting federal workers responsible for responding to incidents involving weapons of mass destruction.

The meeting, co-sponsored by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), focused primarily on personal protective equipment (PPE)-related issues for federal workers involved in emergency responses resulting from terrorist acts and/or weapons of mass destruction.

Three panels of representatives from federal and state agencies and associations discussed various PPE-related issues including certification of respiratory protection, interoperability of respiratory protection equipment, training and fit-testing requirements, and guidance for PPE selection. Briefings and follow-on discussions also focused on certification procedures and standards to address the range of PPE necessary for different levels of government responders.

One particular issue discussed centered on whether individual agencies should continue to be responsible for the selection and use of PPE by their own employees, or move to a coordinated effort through a single federal agency. Other topics included recent advances in PPE development, and availability of PPE training models that could be standardized and provided to government personnel.

Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration

These guidelines constitute directions to compliance officers on how to issue citations at
multi-employer worksites. They do not preclude inspections to determine whether or
how to issue appropriate citations. They do not constitute rules, policies, or statements of
rights. The guidelines have general application to owners, general contractors and subcontractors on any multi-employer worksite that have a direct (e.g., general contractor to subcontractor) or indirect (e.g., subcontractor to subcontractor, owner to subcontractor,
etc.) contractual relationship to one another. These guidelines shall not supersede
responsibilities set out elsewhere such as those in the Hazard Communication Standard,
etc.

Details of the Guidelines can be found on www.orosha.org. These guidelines go into effect January 1, 2003.

Source: State of Oregon