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Show/hide comments|
Movies "Lord of the Flies" - Halvy is "Jack" to Dr. Long's "Piggy" "The Departed" - Halvy is Matt Damon's character to Dr. Long as Leo DiCaprio's character They all pretty much die in the end... |
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Oh Boy
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Stacked Deck is Right You got that right. They sure painted Long as a petty little crybaby when he cried nepotism. Looks like it was much more than the appearance of nepotism at work upstairs. |
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MarkMary73
said:
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... It was another "dirty little secret" that WSI--as currently constituted-- was created, orchestrated, and run by and for the profit and agenda of the state republican party and its well-heeled mouthpiece, the Chamber of Commerce. Now the "secret" is out. This gang, in treating injured workers as criminals, flaunted law and ethics as if they were yesterday's garbage. AG Stenehjem--you of the self admitted "conflict"--what, as the chief law enforcement officer in ND, are you going to do about it? Are you going to continue to slough off your responsibility simply because you don't want to offend your republican/chamber of commerce base? Governor, will you do your job by calling a special session with the warning to your republican "leadership" that the legal, ethical, and moral train wreck that is WSI will be fixed? Or will you continue to follow the path of least resistance while the biggest and dirtiest scandal in ND state government history continues under your watch? This fiasco cries out for leadership. Do the right thing and let the partisan chips fall where they may |
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Hello!
said:
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No Bill Shalhoob! Bill Shalhoob should not be appointed to WSI's Board. He is a lobbyist for the ND Chamber of Commerce. He's part of the problem. Appointing Shalhoob would damage the agency's credibility further. It's a huge conflict of interest. It would further John Hoeven's culture of cronyism in ND, too. |
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Steve C
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... Everyone needs to address the Chamber by its real name. I have always referred to them as the North Dakota Chamber of "Communist's". There can be no other appropriate name for this organization. |
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S. Fred Wood
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Thank you Dr. Long. Thanks for coming clean Dr. Long. I'm certain you have taken a lot of crap because of this, and I know you expect more. You are appreciated! |
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Norman Einsteen
said:
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Gack! I couldn't be prouder of being a tax paying resident supporting these mafioso baffoons. |
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Another WSI saga
said:
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... Wow, piss Blunt off when you are just doing your job and he doesn't ever want you to work again in the state or anywhere. Who does he think he is? Blunt is so wrong about Miller, he did not send the email and was out of town the day the email was sent, but Blunt's paranoia got the best of him. He is pathetic. |
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sick
said:
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bleh! This makes me sick to my stomach. It is time to dissolve WSI altogether. Time to privatize workers compensation. |
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Steve C
said:
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... Here is a thought in which i can't believe it has not came to me sooner. Why doesn't the state finally grant and recognize collective bargaining for State employees? When the Whistleblower law fails like it has under the Republican administration, you would a least have an alternative for resolution to problems or "grievances", through a grievance procedure. Organized labor has reinstated unjustly terminated employees through arbitration. It puts in a "check and balance" so to speak, which can prevent "rogue bosses" from having their way. When an employer has to prove just cause and especially where the state has open records, this can be of great help to those organized state employees who have grievances where their employer cannot hide all the facts. You would benefit greatly from representation. It is like a cheap job insurance policy. Kind of miss going to an arbitration hearing to hear the bosses lie under oath, then get to rub it in their faces when they lose. Would suspect much less coruption in this agency at least. |
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sunshine
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Code Blue This agency is beyond life support. WSI Board, your organization is dying. A slow and painful death. Why can't you see it? Politicians, you keep up the denial too, although some of us are connecting the dots and realize that your denial is only fake and you really do know what's going on. It's time the voters make their disgust known. The best thing for denial is a healthy dose of reality. |
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Doug D.Riley
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Not Surprised Really folks just how many of us are not surprised by the inner workings of wsi,but what does surprise us are the big names that keep popping up and just how long are we going to let it continue because more audits just are'nt the answer,that my friends brings another question,it seems like the auditors are in the wrong buildings,theres more,i like the part where wsi wants medical evidents for claims instead of doctors medical opinions but they pay out of state doctors to come in and give their medical opinion to override our doctors medical evidents an the result is denial of benefits for the injured workers,i would like to thanks DR.LONG for his efforts to bring justice to a very corrupt wsi,THANK YOU DR. LONG..... |
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I have issues
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Disturbing I and slowing making my way through the 26 pages and after 10 I am so disturbed that I think I will finish it in the morning. (Thank God for Ambien  ) Having just recently been informed (Dec 13, the day before my shoulder surgery) that my claim had been denied because it was a "pre-existing" condition, pages 4-5 are of particular interest to me since two doctors said that although I had shoulder issues earlier last year, the car accident I had while driving a company car in September (not my fault) made the pain in my shoulder and left arm unbearable and I could not find any relief through chiropractic care and physical therapy. I also had a soft tissue injury to my upper back and neck. Classified as such in the initial claim. The April 11, 2007 meeting stated on page 5 seems to be the exact reason to ask for a review of my claim. I would even be agreeable if they would re-examine the situation and decide to pay for some of the therapy. It is no wonder that Schneider, Mandingo and Indvik resigned from the board. I think that they know this would all come out eventually. Seems they thought that resignation would save their asses. No longer so. They should all be indicted not just Blunt. Thanks Dr. Long for your courage to step up and try to make a lot of wrongdoings right. Doug...they used one of their "consulting doctors" to deny my claim. When I asked them if he was an actually on staff at WSI the claims adjuster I talked with basically refused to answer my direct question. Anyone know how long denied claims can be submitted for a new review? I know my initial 30 days are up but aren't they reviewing denied claims? |
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Doug D.Riley
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To I Have Issues I've been told to contact Kay Grinsteinner on denied claims so far i have not been able to do so because mine are still active at the (moment),but from what i've been told she can get it reviewed or she will review it.hope this helps and good luck.... |
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To I have issues
said:
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Coontinuing Jurisdiction Review To I have issues, you can go on their website www.workforcesafety.com and pull up the continuing jurisdiction review form, fill it out and send it in. If you have problems, just call WSI and ask them to mail you the form. They said they are accepting applications for review through June 30th. Don't give up. Have them review it again. |
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Tweety Bird
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Keiser not cozy with WSI????? Keiser is quoted in an article today in the Fargo Forum as saying the relationship with WSI was not cozy. Really? Armstrong's journal talked about Keiser being involved in other secret planning meetings also. Did Pat Springer really expect Keiser to just admit what he has been doing? If this isn't enough for Al Carlson to remove Keiser from the WSI oversight committee, then maybe Al Carlson needs to be removed from his post. How much clearer can it be? Pat Springer should ask Keiser to give some detailed comment on his proposal from a month ago. Has he helped get any injured workers benefits? If not, why not? Stop giving the guy a pass. Hold his feet to the fire and make him accountable. WSI is a mess and we need action, not just some stupid PR stunts. |
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leo
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WSI Sleaze WSI Executive Says Top Brass Must Go Saturday, November 17, 2007 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ The chief of support services for the Workforce Safety and Insurance Agency says the agency is in shambles. James Long says the top executives at the agency need to go. Long was placed on paid leave and temporarily banned from the building. He says the action came because he helped criminal investigators during a probe of the agency. Long says the rank-and-file workers at the agency do a good job. But he says the executive staff needs to be replaced. WSI spokesman Mark Armstrong says the embattled agency has been doing its job. He called the unrest at the agency a storm that will eventually pass. The above article was written in the Bismarck Tribune in Nov of 2007. Long's accusations in his latest release regarding the executive staff at WSI should shock anyone, if they are true. Present and past WSI employees are painfully aware that these accusations are true. Long was in the inner circle for years and would know how these animals operated. Blunt was not qualified for the job of CEO, and his imports from his home state weren't as well. The executive staff that rallied behind Blunt for their own benefit really are an embarrassment - their names are in the document. They need to be removed. The head of the republican party, along with many of our state politicians should hang their head in shame. Then they should resign. This all points out that State government and the people we elect should be regularly audited and held accountable for their decisions and actions. Some deserve impeachment for what they have done to destroy public trust of our legislature. Armstrong -- you're not in a storm that will eventually pass, you're in the eye of the storm. |
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Oh Boy
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They admitted the meeting? I'm stunned that MacIver, Wald, and Keiser all admitted attending the meeting Long references. Then, I'm not surprised that they all say that the "plans never materialized." Give me a break. They used that line already on Armstrong's secret meetings detailed in his journal. Here's the Forum link: http://www.in-forum.com/articl...ction=news |
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Tweety Bird
said:
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Is the Governor's claims audit being manipulated? I notice from Long's document that Halvorson seems to always call in Wahlin when he is in a pinch. Nallie has been head of claims for the past three years and has directed the look for reasons to deny policy. Now that the Governor has called for a transparent and complete audit of claims policies, Halvorson replaces Nallie with Wahlin just days before the auditors arrive at WSI. This is a pretty obvious attempt to circumvent the audit. The Governor should be stepping in to make sure this audit is done properly. The auditors need to meet extensively with Nallie. They are reviewing what has taken place in the past three years, not what will occur in the future. Wahlin should be excluded and Halvorson's attempt to manipulate the audit squashed. Wondering if there are any statisticians out there who might answer a question. The audit will review 475 claims selected from a pool of nearly 63,000 claims. Is that statistically significant enough to identify actual trends or is this just a big waste of time and money? If it an adequate pool, even more reason to make sure the audit is done properly and with Nallie's involvement. Wahlin and Halvorson should not be directing it. We all know Halvorson is a master at manipulating the numbers. |
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Researcher
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Stats Q The question of whether the 475 claims will have satisfactory statistical power will hinge in no small part on the sampling methodology used by the auditors. If the sampling is indeed random, then a standard formula to determine statistical power may be employed to determine whether 475 is enough. However, based on past audits, we know that auditors are often untrained in statistical research methodologies and may use what we call "biased" sampling techniques. Biased sampling means that the selected items are not random and may be to the benefit or the detriment of the audited agency. The auditors may choose (or be directed toward) claims that were handled favorably. In the case of WSI, this may be the cut-and-scrape claims that have risen in percentage in recent years. We know these claims are handled pretty efficiently by WSI, even in spite of the organizational turmoil. In contrast, the claims reviewed may be biased to "harm" the agency and be composed primarily of difficult (and expensive) to resolve claims that in the past would have gone to an ALJ. In my humble opinion, the auditors must ensure that they have a statistically significant sample with sufficient power of BOTH types to render a fair determination. To my knowledge neither of the contractors has a properly qualified statistician or researcher on staff to handle this issue. |
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Hello???
said:
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You are summin' Long speaks truth...NOT Why is it that everyone assumes that what Long says is the truth and what everyone else says is not? How come when Armstrong released his journal, everyone acted in here acted like Armstrong was the criminal, yet when Long released his journal now (recreated after the fact), he is the hero? Seems strange to me.... |
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Oh Boy
said:
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Aint no Journal, Mack It was a report given to law enforcement categorized by violations of the century code. Armstrong didn't compile his secret diary for law enforcement. Long knew where his was going. That's one reason, anyway. |
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Mario
said:
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... So far Chet has written about just the one scene at the Chamber of Communism and Keiser, MacIver and Wald seem to have admitted to Patrick Springer that the meeting and the scheming happened. ?That was an attempt to create balance of information about an agency,? Keiser said. ?It wasn?t a cozy relationship? between the state GOP, state chamber, Republican legislative leaders and WSI. http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=178424§ion=news Sure it was an attempt to "create balance of information." Sheesh. I was born in the morning, but it wasn't THIS morning. They just claim once again that they weren't competent enough to put it all together. That makes them "Keystone Crooks" I guess. Doesn't WSI have someone on staff whose job it is to "create balance of information" about WSI? Why does that guy get paid $80 thousand a year if these other people need to sneak off to a secret, smoke-filled room to come up with a plan to do his job for him? |
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Doug D.Riley
said:
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Elected Officials Elected officials know just what they are doing and should be held accountable for their actions-they also should get the maximum penalty for doing so-they were elected to lead the people-not to abuse the people and thats just what they are doing-these people are no better than the everyday thief as a matter of fact they are worse-their destroying the lives of the injured workers-getting good honest workers fired an hurting the whole state with their corrupt bs-these folks should not resign the should be locked up.... |
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stats guy
said:
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To Tweety Yes, 475 claims out of 63,000 should be statistically accurate IF the sample is randomly selected. Top-notch auditors should have computer-based sampling software to enable a randomly selected sample as long as WSI provides the entire database of claims to choose from. Concern was expressed by Researcher about improper sampling that could lead to a skewed result. Concerning the claims that go to litigation, they might want to consider stratifying the sample to ensure enough claims of each type are equally selected. Sampling is one small part of the process. Key will be who they interview, what other documents they look at (legal support documents for example) and whether or not they interview the administrative law judges and other external parties who may provide additional objectivity and perspective. Lots of technicalities. Is management actually that involved that they could lead the audit? To be a valid study and totally objective, the scope should have been developed by the auditors with little input from management. They can suggest, but in no circumstances should they be allowed to direct or dictate what is looked at and who is interviewed. Big no no if this thing is to have any credibility. Reading up on this in the papers, was the scope really developed by the board chair and some guy from the governor's office? Are they experts in audits or scope development? Was management heavily involved in this process? If so, then big red flags all over the place and maybe reason to be concerned. |
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POJR
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Ha, ha...keep the laughs coming WSI execs! This story keeps getting more and more pathetic - it's gonna make the big time yet! Gee, do you think maybe our Governor should be concentrating on the WSI scandal - you know, the biggest our state has ever seen in State Government - instead of picking a fight with National Geographic?  Those poor execs at WSI. They just can't get anything right! In the words of an old Judy Collins song, "Where are the clowns, send in the clowns - don't bother, they're here!" Hey, this sounds kinda familiar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...re=related |
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mr.Ford
said:
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Cookie Jar Sounds to me like there are to many hands in the cookie jar on this table!! In the event this was a real audit, there would be no actual interference in this independent audit, by WSI, the governors office, a few attorneys , and lets throw in some state legislatures for good measure. Now since we are in North Dakota, you know the place where more people take offense to how National Geographic portrays a few small towns that have not made it into the 21st century, more then they take offense to how their state government treats the injured workers. Businesses wonder why they are dealing with a dwindling work force, and the population has not gained much in the last forty years in this state, well maybe more people from out of state are researching this state before they even think about moving here. No wonder Custer?s last stand was in Montana, because he sure didn?t want to make a claim for workers comp in North Dakota. |
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Huh?
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To Hello??? This kills me. You compare a journal, which describes a plot to 'thwart' law enforcement to a detailed whistleblower complaint provided to law enforcement to assist with investigating possible crimes? These two items aren't even remotely the same thing. Isn't 'obstruct' similar to 'thwart'? His claim can't all be bogus if 2 of the politicians involved publicly acknowledged they attended this meeting. Just because they say they didn't carry out the plan, the fact they were even having such a discussion is disturbing. It's like saying 'well, we did meet and we may have discussed doing something wrong but in the end we didn't do it'. So the letters Chet refers to that showed up in the papers late April were just a coincidence? Give me a break. |
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Butch Girl
said:
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108k for 20 hours a week? WSI is paying some guy $108,000 a year to work 20 hours a week? That should be front page news all by itself! I'm with the rest of you. This makes me sick.  |
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Kris S.
said:
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Blunt Lied on Tape? On page 8, it says that the state auditor has an audio tape where Blunt lied about Spencer's employment status. Can we get this through open records? Does anybody know? Who do we contact? I want to know if it is really true. |
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mr Ford
said:
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Chet has the info This is great, I am sure glad you can fill in the blanks sometimes on our questions Chet......Thanks again.. |
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S. Fred Wood
said:
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Over a half an hour Chet? It took you over a half an hour to respond to that request for a recording? Did you have a little too much to drink last night Chet? You are unfreaking believable. Listening to Blunt it's no wonder the auditors wanted to record everything. Someone on the Trib site was talking about personality conflicts. Why would someone, anyone, have a personality conflict with a pathological liar? PS. I am not a medical professional and this is not a medical or psychological diagnosis. But if it was a medical condition, is he entitled to use his sick leave? |
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Kris S.
said:
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Wow, Thanks Chet It sure sounds like it. Except I heard Blunt say that that Spencer's leadership position was over and he just didn't tell the public or Spencer's peers so as to not embarass him. What does that mean for the sick leave? Was it indeed a violation then? Seems like it to me. |
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mr Ford
said:
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updates on investigations Hi, can anyone give us updates or any timeline for all of these investigations going on at WSI, or the one on the untouchable Bob Indivik. This just seems to be one big smoke screen from week to week that the state puts in the news to cover up everything going on at WSI, just throw another investigation on top of the first five, or ten, or how ever many investigations going on now are, and no one will ever know what the outcome is on them. Is this the states idea on a cover up? Do we ever get to the end of an investigation with the next issue someone wants investigated? I am beginning to think this state would throw gas on a fire to try to put out the fire. It is sad as parents we try to teach our kids two big things in life, and hope they stick by them: 1) Never lie 2) Never steal. Now this next to believing in God is the biggest issues I have for my kids to really believe in sticking to in life. Its funny, when a politician comes on the TV I pause it, and my wife asks me what I am doing? I just reply well with it paused his lips are not moving, so we don?t have to worry about him lying to us. Since, she knows my opinion how you can tell when your being lied to by a politician. Well back to the real issue, can anyone put in any input about any investigations being done over WSI, or will these be like the Whitehouse emails, just be a rumor from here on out? |
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Sanchez
said:
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Good tape, but there was a previous meeting Chet...that's some really good information and it really shows Blunt's inherent abiity to duck and weave through a simple issue. But here's another issue...the audio you played was from a subsequent meeting in which Blunt and the State Auditor were clarifying issues privately. There was another meeting attended by the WSI executive staff, Gordy Smith, Jason Wahl, and Ron Tolstad. In this meeting Sandy Blunt clearly stated that Spencer resigned which would evidently contradict with what Long stated in his document and what he also stated on the Joel Heitkamp show. Do you have the audio from this first meeting? |
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Cosmo
said:
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Taylor Made Watch out for connections to WSI and/or other politicians with these 2 consultant studies. Especially the HR study. It's a small world.  |
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Another WSI saga
said:
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... Once someone is fired/resigned/or leaves and they don't have 10 yrs of service with the state they are not entitled to sick leave, that is the law. I believe Long because I have spoken with Mr. Miller and he acknowledged a plot by Steve Cates to try to get him fired from his new job, that would tie into what Blunt had Roger Krueger do as well (one thing to keep in mind is that Roger Krueger is the same consultant used by the Red River Valley Fair board in the last couple years and we all know how well their operation is run as well). Cates called Miller at work on 2 different occassions and one was a threat where he said, you better watch yourself things are going to get interesting. He also emailed Miller and when Miller responded back that Cates is not to contact him at work, Cates said that as a citizen of ND he can contact any public employee anytime and for any reason (kinda hypocritical since Cates wrote in his diatribe that Miller used state computers for non related state business, much like what Cates was doing - what a hypocrit). So whether it was Cates, Krueger, Blunt there was a plot to defame Miller which all centers around the fact that an auditor Miller insisted on doing an investigation into direct reports of Blunts who did not report personal leave to attend the funeral of Pat Traynors father (this would be Mary Marthaller, John Halvorson and Michelle Blumhagen). This is the investigation the auditors refer to in their working papers. This pissed off Pat Traynor who still has his fingers in WSI. This led to the investigations, harassment and eventual resignation of Miller. Yes Blunt is vindictative, however the true Blunt has been exposed. |
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S. Fred Wood
said:
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Speaking of Krueger Wasn't he disciplined for sexual harassment of a WSI employee? Does Blunt attract these types like moths to a flame? What does this say about the politicians that were so attracted to him? |
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Cosmo
said:
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Pattern of abuse Investigations, harrassment, eventual terminations. Outside influences. For an agency that cries 'it's political' whenever they're exposed, they sure are political. The creation of the Board to 'insulate' WSI from politics looks like the biggest sham ever. WSI bullies everyone. Their mission statement says it all 'To us its personal'. No kidding. |
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Oh Boy
said:
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Krueger's contract was terminated S. Fred Wood is correct. Krueger's contract with WSI was terminated after he allegedly commented on a female director's breasts and made inapropriate comments about the attractiveness of this same woman's daughter, whose photo was in her office at WSI. Interestingly, Blunt kept Krueger on as his "personal coach" even after Krueger's retainer contract at WSI was terminated by Long. Keep that in mind; Long had to can Krueger for his inappropriate behavior. Now get this, Blunt brought Krueger back to work at WSI (despite his wrongdoing) after the woman who was harassed quit. Anybody see a pattern here? |
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Aston Kushner
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Looks to Me Like it was Jimmy doing the Punking and Dunking Not Others FROM THE LAW 4-07-13-03. SICK LEAVE ACCRUAL -- Employees eligible for sick leave begin to accrue leave from the day of hire. FROM THE OMB HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY MANUAL -- Sick Leave Employees begin to earn eight hours of sick leave each month of full-time employment with no maximum accumulations from the first day of employment. Sick leave must be earned before it can be taken. An employee with at least ten continuous years of state employment, who leaves state employment, is entitled to a lump sum payment equal to one-tenth of the pay attributed to the employee?s unused sick leave accrued under this section. (N.D.C.C. 54-06-14). NOTE: Employees may use accumulated annual leave up to and including the resignation date, provided they receive approval from their division director or the OMB director. Annual leave taken prior to and including the resignation date is treated as hours in a paid leave status. FROM THE PERFORMANCE AUDIT REPORT -- Reviewing Absenteeism Standard, We noted the Chief of Support Services had established a benchmark of 7.5% absenteeism for certain employees. When asked how this benchmark was established, the Chief of Support Services identified information which noted a 5% absenteeism rate was too high. However, we noted this information was irrelevant. The information provided related to how the 5% rate was calculated was significantly different than how WSI calculated the 7.5% rate. The 5% rate calculation did not include vacations and approved leave of absences. WSI is including these amounts in their calculation. We noted employees who have been employed by the state for an extended period of time may not be able to stay within the 7.5% rate established by the Chief of Support Services. This is due to the amount of annual leave employees can accumulate during the year. A representative of the Office of the Attorney General noted annual leave is a benefit of employment with the state and employees must be given the opportunity to use their annual leave. Since the 7.5% rate is used as criteria within performance appraisals, certain employees may need to make a decision of not taking time entitled to them or risk having their appraisal rating adversely affected if they do take time entitled to them. This is not appropriate. Recommendation 2-17 -- We recommend Workforce Safety & Insurance review and re-evaluate the reasonableness of a 7.5% standard for absenteeism. The organization should, at a minimum: a) Ensure the absenteeism standard is not lower than the amount of annual leave employees are entitled to use in a year; b) Ensure the absenteeism standard includes consideration for a reasonable amount of sick leave; and c) Ensure leave taken under the Family Medical Leave Act or compensation earned under the Fair Labor Standards Act is not included in the calculation of the absenteeism rate. Management?s Response -- CONCUR: The seven-and-a-half percent absenteeism rate was used when reviewing the Dependability section of the employee?s performance evaluation. WSI will assure that any absenteeism standard set will not fall below the annual leave accrual rate of an employee including a consideration for a reasonable amount of sick leave with an exclusion for FMLA and FSLA leave. The law, the Attorney General, OMB, the Auditor, and WSI management all agree an employee has a legal right to use earned leave of all forms and that a state agency is legally obligated to allow the use of such leave even up to the date of resignation. Looks to me from the audit that it was Jimmy who was doing the punking at WSI and not others. Jimmy is constantly lying and getting caught lying. So many pieces of his story are collapsing on him now that he must wonder when the actual truth will finally come out against him. |
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Demi Moore
said:
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The Price of Tea in China Wow...it took the good ol' boy network this long to go on the counterattack against Long. You have had the 30 page document for almost a week and this is all you can come back with? Hmmm...you guys are slipping a bit. Let's focus on the facts. Sick leave (no not annual leave) was not a vested benefit for Spencer. Blunt providing it to Spencer when he was not sick is against the law. Let's see, 3 weeks of illegal sick leave at Spencer's compensation rate ($108k) is approximately $6,200. Unbelievable...another felony. |
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Truth
said:
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... Plus it states that Blunt said he fired Spencer but allowed him to use sick leave, that is against the law because Spencer was not an employee with 10 yrs of accumulated time, no matter how Pro-WSI people spin it, there was no reason Spencer should have been paid for his sick leave when he was TERMINATED!!! Period, find the law that allows that. Come on you Pro-WSI people lets see it. But do you think Blunt cares, no I don't think he does, neither does any Pro-WSI supporter, they don't heap any criticism on their golden boy |
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Chet
said:
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Can you hear me now? This might be the audio you're talking about... ? (click here) [Chet: This link doesn't work for me. Someone else tell me if it works for you. I'll upload elsewhere in the meantime.] |
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Truth
said:
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... Please tell us what all those pieces are that are falling in around Jim. You state so many are but offer no proof - typical WSI supporter tactic, blame/belittle/demean the messenger and those who don't kiss the feet or any part of Blunt or WSI board and its corrupt management team. |
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S. Fred Wood
said:
New top 10commented on a female director's breasts and made inappropriate comments about the attractiveness of this same woman's daughter Top 10 pick up lines (that will cost you your job) "Hey baby, nice breasts, your daughter is pretty hot too." Then Blunt keeps him on as his personal coach? One thing for certain, that guy needs a personal coach. Hey Aston, I can do better than Roger, and I'll only charge half as much. And I say this from the heart, you need help. |
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Doug D.Riley
said:
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Just Do'nt Get It Blunt and his cronies had stacked 174 million inside his bullit proof building an surrounded himself with high polical figures to protect himself an a few others (like the BOARD) from any outside pressure-in short to make themselfs above the law-but here is what i do'nt get-why scam so much money if it's not yours or how was it tobe filtered out...... |
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mr Ford
said:
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TO Doug Maybe though inflated sick pay, bonuses, and trinkets, among other things!! I am sure they can figure a way to move that much, I mean look one guy in France scammed the bank there out of over 7 billion dollars. I am sure someone here at WSI had a good plan for this 174 million dollars, right?? Maybe they could by an island getaway in the south seas for WSI weekend retreats for the upper management. I am sure others here can give them good ideas to do with that money, since they cheated 64,000 workers out of treatments, and benefits, and right into poverty. |
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Sanchez
said:
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You found it, Chet! You found it, man. Nice job. This is the meeting and the lie(s) - all on tape. |
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Sanchez
said:
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Zapruder Film, too? Chet, since you are so on top of things, do you also have the 8mm film of the shooter on the grassy knoll? I'm amazed, really. |
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Doug D.Riley
said:
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Just Maybe Just maybe blunt should have to reimburse wsi for the money he let spencer have-or my luck they will bring blunt an spencer back an put them both on administrative leave ontil the court dismisses it..... |
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mr Ford
said:
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Here is my suggestion!!!! Here is my suggestion about saving future people from the damage of North Dakota politics, and the possible life long injury they may get if they come to this state to work. Everyone who does not want to see another person deal with WSI , and North Dakota on a work related injury, take arms and stand up to protect the ones looking at moving to ND. If your willing to, we just need to band together and produce a letter to the editor of the news papers, and each person will email this letter off to a list of papers they are given to send it to each week. In this letter needs to be the very reasons why these people should not come to this state to work, and live, until there is something done to protect their rights as workers. I think that with enough people involved in this we could really bring this state to more national attention though posting issues like this in other states news papers. Why give these businesses fresh workers to damage in ND, since they know the state is on the businesses side to protect them from the injured worker. Then when these businesses go to other states for job fairs to bring workers in, maybe their wont be so much interest in coming here to work in a state that doesn?t care about its peoples issues. These postings are great, and I enjoy reading everyone?s listing, although I think there is more we can do if we band together, and work the issue to make this state, and employers stand up and look at the issues that will affect them if they don?t step in and help the workers now. This state is having a hard time getting workers here now, imagine if each paper started looking at the issues and reporting them, then a job fair for ND companies came to their town. It would be funny if not a single person showed up then for the job fairs, or showed any interest in ND, due to the reality of what might happen to them here. We need to find different ways to make this state, and these employers accountable for the choices they have made, and the issues they have addressed. If anyone has any other suggestions on how to accomplish this, and get the word out to other states please list your idea. Since I don?t thing National Geographic will do a segment on ND WSI, and its government protection from the issues it caused. On a lighter note I am proud the governor stood up for the state of ND, and a few run down houses on national TV, what a brave man, now if he could just reach down there one more time and see if he can find them things between his legs, and go deal with WSI corruption what a world it would be. Then again in the Wizard of Oz , the tin man is still looking for his brain each time I see it on TV too, think that runs after each rerun of the governors interview about National Geographic interview. |
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leo
said:
|
To Mr. Doug D. Riley Blunt and Spencer deserve to be charged with theft of funds from the people of North Dakota. Also, both were involved with the idiotic grant program Spencer introduced with Blunt's blessing. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were given away that served no purpose but to line Spencer's pocket. Blunt always thought the people of North Dakota were "dumb" and called us hicks. Let's not let him get away with it! Let's put them back under the rock they crawled out from under. |
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Truth
said:
|
... Leo, Blunt was partly right, he found Hicks on the WSI board who let him walk all over them and created the WSI problem, that is why the WSI board must be disbanded and accountability restored to an elected official. |
|
Researcher
said:
|
Triangulation of Data Stats guy brought up some important information. In fancy pointy-headed geek words, we call this triangulation of data. What that means is how do we verify information obtained from one area with others? Scanning these documents again, I see that the whistleblower disclosure is beginning to triangulate. 1. Regarding the meeting at the Chamber of Commerce, some of the persons named have already admitted it took place. That lends credence to the claim. 2. Regarding the circumvention of open meetings, it appears through information disclosed here on the NorthDecoder that the Chairman was spending a lot of time talking on the phone to other members of the board, especially before and after key events. The open meetings violations haven't been proven, but we now have at least two data points pointing in that direction. Surveillance video from the WSI building on key dates might provide us with a third data point to consider. Where certain board members on site together? Can we prove it? How about phone records? These additional data points, if pointing in similar directions, would tend to verify these claims. 3. Obstructing an Auditor - the voice clips provided here also seem to point in the direction that the claims made in the disclosure are based (at least in part) in actual events. 4. Mitigation of sure and certain relief: We should know more about this as the current audit progresses, assuming the process is fair and balanced. We should all keep in mind that another data point triangulating in support of this claim are the ALJ documents released to the Governor and provided here on the NorthDecoder. Judge Allen Hobergs statements were damning, particularly in regard to the dwindling legal support available to injured workers as WSI pushed for faster, cheaper, and apparently more favorable outcomes in disputed cases. The list, you see, goes on an on. We don't yet know if Long's claims will be supported. As more and more data points are compiled, it appears that many of these claims have support from outside sources. Whether they all are "fact or fiction" is yet to be determined. My money goes to fact. Armstrong (by the content of his email) appears to be suggesting it is fiction. Welte has an obligation to look into these claims. I just hope he has the courage. We'll all know soon enough. |
|
Doug D.Riley
said:
|
This Is All Good This is all good-but lets turn back a few pages-the board brought in blunt from a sinking ship out of ohio-they (the board) knew just what they were looking at when they brought him in and no one can tell me differnt-for one -the bullit proof building was being built before he(blunt) landed in North Dakota-you see the workings had already started-they (wsi)was already gearing up to deny the injured workers-the board needed the right mouth piece to bring in the politicians and the chamber of commerce-blunt brought with him his cronies to run the inside of wsi while the board an himself did the dirty work outside-in order to get this plumbing back in working order there going to have to bring in a really big plunger to break up this pile of crap and then it will take someone with a really strong stomach to flush the toilet-they were on the right track awhile back about biulding a new prison because if they really do go in a clean house there going to need the room-but i do'nt see that happening because therir going to say stuff like (well i did'nt know or crap like he's my friend)well i do'nt buy it -mail them a postcard say'n C-YA..... |
|
Mike
said:
|
... What I don?t understand is why the board just keeps hanging in. Why have your names dragged though the mud for what - a hundred dollars per meeting? Why if you?re not a part of this mess stay around and get a reputation by association? Is there a need to hold on? Is there more to this? |
|
Mike
said:
|
... And since I always have more to say. Who in the H? ever thought giving WSI the right to override an administration law judge was a good idea? Who? Why? Name one other scenario where this is true? |
|
mr Ford
said:
|
Good point Mike Very good point about who gave WSI the authority to do so, but then again I think WSI, IRS sounds about the same......and they both do as they please. |
|
Stand Tall
said:
|
Greener Grass... I tried posting this last week, but was having troubles, but I still think they are important so will try again. There are many things in Jim's document that I already suspected as a former employee. My #1 reason for leaving WSI - Sandy Blunt. Thank you Jim for finally putting these things in black and white and standing up for what is right. I have to admit I didn't care for Jim until he became a whistle blower, simply because he seemed to have gotten sucked into Sandy's circle too quickly, too fast. The real workhorses of WSI did not and do not trust the Sandy circle. Barry the "workhorse" is yes a hard worker, but too busy now working to cover his own butt from what I read, what I know, and what I hear. It's sad how Sandy, Halvy and company have corrupted many of the good people and forced them to take sides and do things that are bordering unethical. I understand they feel trapped, but come on stand up and do the right thing. How can you live with yourselves? Too many are fearful of losing their jobs. Please know the grass is greener outside of WSI, even without the insurance and the nice monthly paycheck. According to Jim's document I find out that I was lied to by Halvy. I questioned too much maybe and that's why I was restructured under the bottom brackets. They did not like people that pointed out the wrong doings of Sandy and company. I can only imagine how many big lies were and are told to cover their butts. I so often wonder how Halvy and Barry are keeping it all straight, oh yeah fishing trips and a remembering "I have no recollection of this". Tim Hutchings keeps his job, but good people at WSI are removed from their positions, blackballed and demoted? I knew it would be a bad idea to hire Tim, I even offered that to Sandy without knowing all the underlying issues. Wow! I find it amazing that I thought I knew people, and wow, how do they sleep at night? I sleep great again knowing I don't have to get up and go to WSI. To those of you thinking about filling those prescriptions to be able to sleep, quit. The money and insurance just isn't worth your health. |
|
Mike
said:
|
And let us not forget this . http://www.northdecoder.com/in...k-Out.html where would we be without Chet. Thank you so much. And remember to vote for Rep. Jasper Schneider for state insurance commissioner. |
|
Doc Holliday
said:
|
To Stand Tall Great posting! I second everything you said. I know you that at WSI are good people working for some really bad people. I hope everyday that someone gets rid of them for you. Halverson (attends illegal meetings with Long!) Bjornson (gave bad legal advice and then forgot she did it!) Wahlin (gave advice to outside attorney on how to get dirt on employees) Hutchings (investigated for sexual harassment how many times?) THIS IS NO GROUP OF PEOPLE TO HAVE IN CHARGE OF ANYTHING! Everyone watch and remember what the AG and Governor do about this and then vote! Some people have risked a lot to inform all of you about the truth of WSI and you can help change things. |
|
Doc Holliday
said:
|
WSI dontates heaters I read on the Tribune that WSI donated 40 heaters. I guess they had a few laying around from all the people that have quit. Before anyone thinks about giving out the Nobel Peace Prize for this...the heaters don't even keep a person warm in a 6X6 cubicle, they are not real heaters but I guess for a PR move they will work! |
|
mr Ford
said:
|
40 space heaters? Wow, fourty space hearters, I guess that makes up for the thousands of injured workers who may not be able to afford heat because WSI did, or is screwing them out of money they need!!! |
|
mr Ford
said:
|
oh one other thing.... Why are they giving away space heaters to people who are without electricity? Seems like if this is the case, it defeats the purpose doesnt it? |
|
Oh Boy
said:
|
Breaking News Long will be fired within 24 hours; that the hot tip I got late this afternoon. Also heard that WSI folks were crawling all over ND Procurement training under orders. Interesting. |
|
mr Ford
said:
|
lets see if this makes it to the newspaper in bismarck I am sure now that the dust has settled, and the paper shredders at WSI are worn out, WSI management can move on now that they have covered their tracks. How do I look at this? As trophy hunting, WSI board, and upper management are looking for that trophy rack to put on their wall in their office, and it seems to be whistleblowers that are the trophies. It is amazing when you read all the stories about what this agency has done to different people, and a lot of these stories sound alike to me. Now I am sure that these people all got together over a cup of coffee and decided to make up a bunch of stories about the poor treatment they got from WSI. |
|
Enough
said:
|
conspiracy Building on Ford's comment, those who are paranoid about conspiracies probably are engaging in them. WSI supporters think everyone is conspiring against them. Look at all the information revealed about WSI's 'behind the scenes' activity. Yes, WSI there are people conspiring against you. Conspiring for the truth. Conspiring for good government. The difference is, they're not trying to hurt people. They're trying to stop the hurt of the WSI bulldozer that runs over everyone and anyone. It's like the bully on the playground that finally gets the crap beat out of them. No one is too sympathetic. The public can't reach into WSI and remove the bullies, they will have to do it through the political process at election time. There's your conspiracy, WSI. |
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