Mayor Puts Workers' Comp Claims in Crosshairs
Tuesday, February 23, 2016 | 0
The recent firing of an injured City of Lawrence worker who was allegedly moonlighting while collecting workers’ compensation benefits has put the spotlight on the mayor’s efforts to reduce the city’s disability benefit obligations, according to the Eagle-Tribune newspaper.
Since Mayor Daniel Rivera took office two years ago, the city has reduced by half the number of workers collecting long-term disability benefits for injuries sustained on the job, sometimes through costly settlement agreements.
When Rivera started the purge, 16 injured workers and the wife of a worker who died while employed by the city in 2004 were collecting a total of $22,976 every two weeks in disability benefits. Now, eight workers collect a total of $10,869 every two weeks, according to the newspaper.
Most injured city workers receive 60 percent of their salaries in disability benefits, while police and firefighters receive 100 percent.
The city has so far paid out $280,000 to five injured workers to settle their claims. Another five have since returned to work, and two more have joined the roster.
Recently, the city hired a private investigator to look into possible fraud in the remaining open claims, according to the newspaper. Last week, it accused an injured parking enforcement officer of working as a dispatcher for a local towing company while collecting workers’ comp benefits.
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