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Showing posts from June, 2013
Drug Abuse Hikes Workers’ Comp. Risks Many players in the workers’ comp system are failing to comply with guidelines that recommend periodic drug screening and psychological treatment. David M. Katz CFOs worried about mounting workers’ compensation costs at their companies should look closely at how freely — and chronically — doctors are prescribing narcotics to injured workers in states where the companies operate. The differences among states can be striking. At the top end, one in six injured workers in Louisiana and one in seven in New York were identified as “longer-term users of narcotics” on workers’ comp. claims made between 2009 and 2011, according to a 2012 study sponsored by the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) . In sharp contrast, fewer than one in 20 workers prescribed narcotics were identified as longer-term users in Arizona, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Indiana and Iowa, according to the study, which is based on data culled from nearly 300,000 nonsu
Background Screening Cautions Employers Against Making Three Most Common Drug Testing Mistakes   Jacksonville Beach, FL (PRWEB) June 14, 2013   “The National Institute of Health estimates that drug and alcohol abuse costs the economy over $300 billion a year. The impact on the workforce in terms of increased accidents, medical costs, turnover and loss of credibility in the marketplace are enormous,” noted Don Dymer, president and chief executive office of SingleSource Services background screening company. Dymer discussed the impact on the workforce with colleagues during a recent SilkRoad conference in Hollywood, Florida. Dymer explains, “The object of the recruitment process is to identify and hire the best qualified for the tasks of the job, but an even greater emphasis must be taken to ensure that the many dangerous characteristics an employee may bring to the workplace are identified and excluded. Here are some sobering facts from the U.S. Department of Labor in 2010: ●

Phili Crane Operator In Building Collapse Had Pot, Painkiller In His System

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Sources tell CBS 3 the excavator operator involved with Wednesday’s deadly building collapse in Center City will face six counts of involuntary manslaughter. Sources tell CBS 3 that blood tests on the excavator operator, 42-year-old Sean Benschop, detected the presence of a prescription painkiller and marijuana. The blood, along with urine, was taken from Benschop at the hospital approximately two hours after the collapse at 22nd and Market Streets, which killed six people and injured 13. ( See Related Story ) Sources say investigators also noticed that Benschop, who has a history of 11 prior arrests, including a conviction for possession and dealing drugs, was speaking in what police considered an unusually slow, quiet way, “almost whispering,” according to a source. Crane operator Sean Benschop. Benschop also allegedly told investigators, according to a source, that he was in pain and taking pain medication after recently cutting his finger. The cr