News briefs: TRIA, RSI, Medicare Set-Asides, and more

November 14th, 2005 by Julie Ferguson

House bill would extend TRIA for two years – Mark Hoffmann of Business Insurance reports that legislation that would extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act by two years is scheduled for review on Nov. 16. He report: “Sources familiar with negotiations surrounding the legislation say that the bill would create so-called silos that would segregate individual lines of coverage and subject them to differing deductibles before individual insurers could tap the federal financial backstop created by TRIA. The silos would include workers compensation, property and general liability. Group life, which was not covered in the original version of TRIA, would be added.”
Here’s an additional story on the potential TRIA extension from Insurance Journal, and check out Joe Paduda’s excellent blog post.
Study: Repetitive motion may cause ‘sick worker’
“Early nerve damage caused by repetitive motion on the job can cause “sick worker” syndrome, a fatigue or depression that can be mistaken for poor work performance, according to a study published in this month’s Journal of Neuroimmunology.” – thanks to Jann and Allison of Standard Publishing for alerting us to this article.
Motivating the Middle: How to reward the best without alienating the rest.
excerpt from CFO: “So how can you reward the star quarterback without depressing the competent linemen who make his plays possible? Here’s a hint: it’s not necessarily more money. Instead, a combination of honest communication, clear metrics, and reasonable career mobility will keep your employees playing like a team.”
How to Prepare a Workers Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Agreement from attorney Jon L. Gelman.
ASSE Urges Employers to Make Accommodations for Aging Work Force“Businesses must act now to accommodate and provide a safer work environment for the aging worker, a valuable and experienced group, or their bottom line will be impacted negatively,” ASSE President Jack Dobson Jr., CSP, says. “There are easy and economical ways to do this that in the long run will save time, increase output and contribute positively to the business.” – Hat tip to George Lenard of George’s Employment Blawg for the pointer.
Support troops by hiring them. This was an item that rawblogXport ran in commemoration of Veteran’s Day – a fitting tribute – but it seems like a good idea any day.
“Reuters wire service reported in August that the number of American veterans collecting unemployment insurance nearly doubled during the past three years.
At that time, there were nearly 30,000 vets throughout the nation requesting unemployment aid. The same story quoted veterans groups as saying military personnel fresh from active duty have few job prospects when they return home. That’s because the training and licensing acquired while in the military doesn’t necessarily translate into the civilian work force. “