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The article reports that rising medical and indemnity costs continue to drive up workers' compensation insurance rates in the U.S. The state struggling with the highest rates for construction workers this year is Montana. Employers in California and Florida have seen workers' compensation rates decline since reforms were adopted in 2003 and 2004. The California Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, which submits rate filings to the California Department of Insurance, has proposed a 15.9% decrease in premiums to be effective from January 1, 2006.

The article offers information on U.S. President Barack Obama's executive actions on immmigration. Topics include I-9s Form related to vexing obligations of employers for verifying workers information accuracy during an audit, enforced rules on deportation of arrivals and felons on workplaces, and fine charged by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer on contractor M& Masonry for 338 violations under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The article discusses the results of a study which showed that painkillers and prescription drugs are driving the costs of workers' compensation. Missouri Senator Mike Cunningham sponsored a bill in 2012 that would give employers access to a free online database of compensation claims to prevent fraudulent claims by workers but it was vetoed by Governor Jay Nixon. The study showed that cheating by employers caused higher loss on workers' compensation than worker fraud.

The article reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is continuing its initiative to put in place a regulation aimed at cracking down on the hiring of illegal immigrants. The move comes amidst the winning by the AFL-CIO and other groups in 2007 of a court injunction, blocking the rule. The agency then issued a rule which spells out what companies must do to be shielded from liability when the Social Security Administration tells them that the name and Social Security number on an employee's W-2 form do not match the agency's records.

The author comments on fatal accidents in construction sites in Las Vegas, Nevada over the past two years which prompted stakeholders to clamor for reform. The author believes there must be a system of checks and balances to make sure that along with project owners elsewhere, owners on The Strip are accountable for the consequences of their actions on projects.

The article reports on the uncovering of an old loophole in workers' compensation insurance regulations in Louisiana, Mississippi and some other states. In April 2006, Louisiana's legislature will act to close its loophole, but the discovery may prompt a broader effort to close them nationwide. Karen Reiners Winfrey, assistant secretary of the Louisiana Office of Workers' Compensation Administration, had been receiving calls from hospitals saying that the workers have no workers' compensation.

The article reports that employers will fight liability claims due to widespread workers illness at Ground Zero in New York City. Air at Ground Zero which was pronounced by the federal government as safe to breath now turns out to have contained tiny shards of shattered glass, asbestos and pulverized concrete. New York Governor George Pataki signed legislation streamlining the workers' compensation approval process and removing the two-year deadline for recovery workers to file claims.

The article reports that a Pennsylvania court has ruled that the widow of a man who worked with asbestos insulation had the right to pursue her lawsuit against the owner of the plant in which her husband worked, even though her husband was employed by an independent contractor. Fred Chenot, an employee of independent contractor Phillip Carey, was exposed to asbestos particles for the first time while working at Koppers Co. Inc.'s plant in Kobuta in 1950-1951. Chenot was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 1998. He sued many defendants, including Beazer East Inc., the successor to Koppers.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues including an article on rebuilding efforts in Iraq in the February 13, 2006 issue, another article related to Workers Compensation Experience Modification Rate, and a letter which presents the suggestion that the journal should give importance to real-life project design and construction as it would help civil engineering students.

This article reports that the meeting and convention business is on the decline, and cities should reconsider plans to build more convention and related hotel space, says a new report by the Brookings Institution. Over the past decade, annual public spending on convention centers has doubled to$ 2.4 billion and convention space has doubled since 1990, says author Heywood Sanders. Foster Wheeler Ltd., New Jersey, is taking a$ 76-million charge to earnings in the fourth quarter after a ruling by a New York state trial court that New York law, rather than New Jersey's, applies in a lawsuit over the allocation of liability for asbestos-related personal injury claims involving some of the firm's subsidiaries.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation on April 19 designed to reform the state's workers' compensation system, which is widely criticized for high costs, inadequate benefits, excessive litigation and abuses. Backers say the reforms could save $5 to $7 billion annually in the $29-billion system.