Vancouver Crowd Lambasts State's Rate Hike

The Columbian of Washington reported that an overflow Vancouver crowd testified before the Washington Department of Labor and Industries last Wednesday, saying that the proposed 40.5 percent increase in workers' compensation premiums next year would destroy them at a time when Washington has the nation's second-highest unemployment rate. At the last of seven hearings, many derided the department for grossly inefficient operations and rampant fraud, telling the directors that it should reform its own processes before imposing the burden on employers.The crowd was told by Doug Connell, director...