North Dakota Attorney General Says Workers’ Comp Meeting Illegal

North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem says directors of the state’s workers’ compensation agency broke the law by meeting in a restaurant without public notice.

Stenehjem ordered the Workforce Safety and Insurance Governance Committee to draft minutes of the illegal meeting, and give a free copy to a former WSI executive who filed a complaint about it.

In a legal opinion, Stenehjem said the May 21 meeting was held at a Bismarck restaurant to discuss the agenda for the following day’s meeting of the full board.

Former WSI chief of support services Jim Long walked in on the meeting. Long filed a complaint with Stenehjem’s office afterward. Long was fired from his agency job last March.