Declarations

Hot As …

“Early in the season, especially as the temperatures spike, all workers, regardless of fitness, should be given the opportunity to acclimatize to handle heat stress and prevent serious injuries from heat illness.”

—In an announcement that came a bit earlier in the season that usual, Cal/OSHA in late April advised all employers to protect their outdoor workers from the risks associated with heat illness with temperatures that were expected to be 15 to 25 degrees above normal in both Northern and Southern California.

Premium Financing

“Financing companies are required to give Massachusetts customers adequate protections and proper notice of auto insurance cancellations so they can determine a solution for continued coverage.”

—Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley on a recent settlement with First Insurance Funding Corp., a premium financing provider. First has agreed to pay $200,000 to resolve allegations that it illegally and prematurely cancelled certain financed auto policies affecting nearly 200 Massachusetts customers. First also will modify its auto insurance cancellation procedures.

TA Better Organization

“Today, OBWC is unquestionably a much more professional and accountable organization than it was in 2005.”

—A report by Ohio’s inspector general says the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has changed for the better, following an investment scandal that rocked the state in 2005. Inspector General Randall Meyer made no new findings of wrongdoing in “Coingate,” a scandal that resulted in 19 convictions reaching up to then-Ohio Gov. Bob Taft. Meyer used the report to detail the status of 75 reforms at the BWC.

Tornado Rating

“We’re trying to rate a tornado based on what the tornado did, rather than how much damage was done by other houses coming apart and then hitting your house.”

—John Robinson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in North Little Rock, Ark. NWS officials said that a tornado that killed 15 people was just shy of being rated Arkansas’ first top-of-the-scale storm in 85 years.