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Safety/Health

Lower health care costs with strategy to change behavior

05/02/2008
Colleges and universities with the lowest health care costs also have the most productive employees, says a new survey by HR consulting firm Sibson. Here are five lessons all businesses can learn from healthy campuses …

Can a wellness program reduce absenteeism?

05/02/2008
Organizations with wellness programs report fewer sick days among participants, according to PreventDisease.com…

Forget cubicles—How about bear-Proof fencing?

05/01/2008
The state health department has announced plans to overhaul the rules governing “man camps,” temporary housing for oil and gas workers in the western part of the state. Changes could include making the sites less inviting to bears and other wildlife …

Carrots and sticks: 5 ways HIPAA limits wellness programs

05/01/2008
Since it is clear that better health translates into lower health care costs, employers increasingly embrace the concept of financial incentives to persuade employees to make healthier lifestyle choices. Thus the rise of wellness programs—a great idea, but one that can run afoul of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) …

You smoke, you’re fired! Lessons from the Whirlpool Case

04/29/2008
The dangers of smoking are well documented: heart disease and cancer, shorter life expectancy, higher health care expenses. Now add another risk: As workers in Indiana just found out, smoking could get you fired. Was their employer justified in taking action, or did it step into a legal quagmire?

Lack of screening did not prove negligence in truck accident

04/22/2008
In September 2004, Martin King and Tobias Ledzema were both driving tractor-trailers in Lake County when Ledzema’s trailer struck King’s. King sued Ledzema’s employer, Fierro Trucking, based in Illinois, alleging negligent hiring and supervision …

A bomb or … a vegetable?

04/22/2008
A bomb squad in Fort Wayne spent several hours investigating a suspicious package sent to the Haller & Colvin law firm. Employees opened the package to find a blue gift bag. They called authorities …

Imperial Sugar refinery blast was preventable, agency says

04/21/2008
U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board member William Wright believes better housekeeping could have prevented the explosion at the Imperial Sugar plant in Port Wentworth that killed 12 workers in February …

Cops: Man seeks revenge, kills 2 employees, bystander

04/21/2008
Police say Charles Johnston went to Doctors Hospital in Columbus on March 28 armed with guns stuffed into his coat and pants pockets, looking for nurse Peter Wright …

Ag-Mart settles with parents in insecticide lawsuit

04/14/2008
Ag-Mart Produce, a Plant City-based tomato grower, has settled a lawsuit with a farm-working couple whose baby was born without limbs. The settlement terms were undisclosed. Francisca Herrera and Abraham Candelario testified that they worked in Ag-Mart fields in Florida and North Carolina in 2004 …