38-year-old senior chief petty officer Kyle Milliken is believed to be the first KIA in Somalia since the infamous “Black Hawk Down” battle in 1993. SCPO Milliken was part of an assist-and-advise mission, supporting a Somali National Army operation against al-Shabaab about 40 miles outside Mogadishu; al-Shabaab is an al-Qaeda affiliated group that is waging a civil war against Somalia’s …
‘Suspicious’ Gathering of Contractors in Papua New Guinea
Military contractors once again descended upon Papua New Guinea, a sight which, for many people, stirred unpleasant memories of a 1997 incident. Ostensibly, the LAS contractors were on hand to help the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary prepare for next year’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. Connections run deep, as up to 10,000 visitors are expected at the November 2018 …
Legislators Will Not Fix Workers’ Compensation This Year
A $70 difference in an attorney’s maximum hourly rate torpedoed a comprehensive workers’ compensation reform measure making its way through the legislature, as House and Senate lawmakers were unable to compromise further. Both versions extended the benefits period from 104 to 260 weeks, to conform with a Florida Supreme Court decision that declared the current system unconstitutional. In an earlier …
Florida Court Passes Workers’ Compensation Rate Hike
In a move that has no direct effect on injured workers, except to increase the benefits available, the First District Court of Appeal ruled that a 14.5% rate increase, which took effect in December, was legal. The plaintiff claimed that the National Council on Compensation Insurance, which recommends premium payments for workers’ compensation insurance, violated the state’s open meeting law …
First Responders Denied Workers’ Compensation in Zika Case
The City of Miami Beach says that Zika infection is not a job-related injury and therefore not covered by workers’ compensation. Bobby Jenkins, the head of the police union, says that two officers who lived outside the Zika hot zones but were on patrol inside the zones were recently diagnosed with the disease. In one cases, the City revoked workers’ …