Workers’ comp: Do you want it or not? A4 Wednesday, January 18, 2012
OPINION
New legal developments related to the workers’ compensation system are affecting two important New Mexico industries — in precisely opposite ways, for precisely opposite reasons. Before this discussion continues, let me jump ahead to a conclusion, lest the reader assume I am a heartless, anti-worker lackey of management. In America, people who get hurt at work should be well and compassionately taken care of, without anybody needing to sue anybody. The question is whether workers’ compensation is the right delivery system. Some farm workers want coverage. An advocacy group, the Center on Law and People, is determined to get rid of the exemption for farm and ranch workers (prior case law has already changed the meaning of this language, so some far ms and ranches are already required to be covered,
EDITORIAL
MERILEE
DANNEMANN TRIPLE SPACED
and this is a great cause of confusion). After several failed attempts at legislation, this group went to the courts. A case based on three injured dairy workers was heard at District Court in Albuquerque in 2011. The judge ruled in November in their favor. Before reading the decision I would have said this case will undoubtedly be appealed, but now I’m not sure. The defendant was not the industry but the state, represented by the attorney general, and the judicial decision was strange. It appears the AG stipulated without argument to
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much of what the plaintif fs alleged, including, among other things, a historical pattern of abuse of workers by New Mexico farmers and ranchers. If the decision is upheld, a few things are predictable. Workers’ compensation is expensive for industries that use physical labor. Farms and ranches are under stress from drought, environmental regulations and other factors. This additional cost will put some out of business; and some family operations will be forced to sell out to corporate agribusiness. I don’t see either of these outcomes as beneficial for New Mexico. On the other hand, workers’ compensation may not be good enough for an injured film industry worker. A recent copyrighted story in the Albuquerque Journal reports on a lawsuit filed by a worker severely injured working on the film “Cowboys and Aliens.” The worker’s attorney, Leon Hunt
of Santa Fe, told me the worker is covered and being taken care of through workers’ compensation. The lawsuit is against companies that were not her employer: DW Studios, Dreamworks Productions and Crane Services. The workers’ compensation law does not prevent suits against such third parties, but it does require giving back some of the proceeds to the workers’ compensation insurer. Hunt said the worker’s employer was a subsidiary of Dreamworks. He expects that to be an issue in the lawsuit; entities related to the worker’s employer can claim the employer’s protection from non-work-comp injury claims. The argument has been made that workers’ compensation is not fair to highly paid movie workers because the wage replacement benefits, capped by law, do not compensate them adequately for
their wage loss. So far this argument has received little sympathy from the influential Workers’ Comp Advisory Council. This is a reasonable but troublesome point. Workers who earn high wages receive more dollars but much smaller percentages of lost wages than lower wage workers (the cap is $699 per week for a 2011 injury, $733 for 2012). But if New Mexico gets too generous with injured movie workers, premiums will go up; since we are in fierce competition with other states, if these costs increase enough, it would be another blow to the industry we worked so hard to bring here. I recently wrote about special protections enacted into law for the space industry. It’s good to be in a glamour industry. Farming, not so much. Contact Merilee Dannemann at www.triplespacedagain.com. © New Mexico News Services 2012
Economy as seen in a Twinkie
As comic relief in the classic Bruce Willis movie “Die Hard” a beleaguered Bruce, fighting off terrorists in a high-rise building, finds an ancient but still edible Twinkie. He reaches out by radio to Twinkie-addicted police Sgt. Al Powell (portrayed by Reginald VelJohnson) and asks what’s in a Twinkie. “Sugar, enriched flour, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, polysorbate 60 and yellow dye No.5,” Al replies. “Everything a growing boy needs.” Well, yes. But as America has learned since Hostess Brands — bakers of Twinkies, Ho-Hos, Drake’s Cakes, DingDongs, Wonder Bread and dozens of other delicious delights — filed for bankruptcy protection last week, the entire American economy is inside a Twinkie, slathered in a mysterious cream-like filling. The predecessor firm, Interstate Bakeries of Kansas City, grew by gobbling up smaller firms (goodbye, mom-and-pop shops) and big competitors, too (goodbye, Continental Baking, a unit of RalstonPurina of sainted memory). Overextended, Interstate operated in bankruptcy between 2004 and 2009, emerging after Ripplewood Holdings, a private equity firm (hello, venture-vs.-vulture-capitalist controversy) took over and renamed it Hostess. The reorganization wasn’t enough. Hostess now says it is weighed down by rising commodity and transportation costs (hello, worldwide demand and rising fuel costs) and legacy pension and health care benefits owed to its union retirees (goodbye, vanishing middle class). Hostess faces aggressive international competition from Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo (hello, globalization). And then there’s the sad but true fact that Hostess makes a lot of stuf f that makes nutritionists blanch. A couple of Twinkies or Sno Balls washed down with a Mountain Dew might get you through the night, but it is not conducive to a healthy diet (hello, Michelle Obama). Even good old “builds strong bodies 12 ways” Wonder Bread is in decline. Thirtythree percent fewer Americans are eating white bread at home than did in 2000. Blame the fiber lobby. The company and its unions say they are in good-faith negotiations about pension changes, but clearly some reductions are coming and some jobs will be lost. But the unions want investors, creditors and other stakeholders to share the burden. If the bankruptcy court allows the company to dump its pension obligations, the government’s Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. would be on the hook (hello, deficits). Blame unions? Blame poor business decisions and overleveraged investors? Blame ourselves? If we’d all been like Sgt. Powell, this wouldn’t have happened. Guest Editorial The St. Louis Post-Dispatch DEAR DOCTOR K: During the colder months, I’m prone to “attacks” in which my fingers and toes get very cold and then go blue and numb. Although they do eventually return to normal, it’s a recurring problem. Could I have Raynaud’s disease? DEAR READER: Raynaud’s is certainly one cause of cold fingers and toes. You mention that your symptoms come and go. This, coupled with the fact that your fingers and toes lose color, leads me to believe you may have Raynaud’s. In addition to causing your digits to feel cold or even painful, Raynaud’s causes the top part of the fingers and toes to get very white or blue-purple.
Gains made on conservative issues
While most attention is focused on the presidential race and Republican hopes to oust President Obama from office, some significant steps were taken last week on issues dear to the hearts of conservatives. In Texas, a federal appeals court upheld the state’s sonogram law, which requires that women seeking abortions view a picture of their baby before having the procedure. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling, which had issued an injunction, preventing the law from taking effect. The decision
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ASK DR. K UNITED MEDIA SYNDICATE
The most common trigger for Raynaud’s is cold air. So for most sufferers, it’s more of a problem in winter. But Raynaud’s can strike even in summer. If you move from outdoors to a very well-air conditioned building, the change in temperature can set it off. Emotional stress or being startled can also trigger an attack of Raynaud’s. Most
CAL
THOMAS SYNDICATED COLUMNIST
allows the state to begin enforcing the law, mandating doctors to give pregnant women “truthful, non-misleading and relevant” disclosures before they have an abortion. The appellate court logically said, “The State’s interest in respect for life is advanced by
attacks of Raynaud’s end if you get out of the cold air and also take certain steps that I discuss below. In anyone, cold causes the tiny blood vessels (arterioles) in and under the skin to clamp down. In Raynaud’s, they clamp down very hard, more than they need to. As a result, the fingers and toes don’t get enough blood or oxygen. This causes the symptoms. Your doctor definitely should be able to diagnose or rule out the condition — particularly if you see your doctor during an attack. The most important thing to do to protect against Raynaud’s is to avoid situations that trigger an attack. Avoid
the dialogue that better informs the political and legal systems, the medical profession, expectant mothers, and society as a whole of the consequences that follow from a decision to elect a late-term abortion.” Full disclosure for women should be a winning issue for Republican presidential candidates. Elsewhere on the social issues front, a Marion Superior Court judge in Indiana upheld that state’s school voucher law. Judge Michael Keele rejected arguments from opponents that the nation’s
cold air. If you have to get out in cold weather, bundle up. Keep your whole body warm (not just your hands and feet). Buy a hat that protects the forehead (wind on the forehead can trigger Raynaud’s). Protect your hands when handling items from refrigerators and freezers at home or at the grocery store. Wear war m clothing when you’re in air-conditioning, if air -conditioning brings on attacks. There are other triggers to consider. Avoid cigarette smoke — chemicals in cigarettes can irritate your blood vessels and cause them to clamp down. Too much cafSee DR. K, Page A5
largest school voucher program is unconstitutional because parents might send their children to religious schools. Judge Keele ruled that since scholarship vouchers are given to parents, who then decide which school best serves their children, the state does not directly fund private religious schools. About 4,000 children are currently enrolled in Indiana’s voucher program. Then there is the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical
25 YEARS AGO
See THOMAS, Page A5
Jan. 18, 1987 • Twenty students at Chisum Elementary School were named Proud Pioneers for December 1986 according to Grace Romero, principal. Each Pioneer was given a Big C Award, presented monthly to students who show “excellent citizenship, cooperation, friendliness toward other students, respect for others and good hard work in their academic assignments,” Romero said. The December Proud Pioneers are: sixth grade — Stephanie Aguilar, Danielle Gonzales, Thu Pham and Aimee Williams; fifth grade — Armando Brady and Jennifer Martinez; fourth grade — Patricia Anchondo, Matthew Roybal and Sayku Wagoner; third grade — Nando Garcia, Yvette Hidalgo and Rhodesia Reese; second grade — Jason Clay, Adrian Esquivel, Norma Lucero and Benji Nunez; first grade — Teresa Martinez and Sandra Trujillo; and kindergarten — Danny Orosco, Diane Ramirez.