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1 AN OVERVIEW OF WORKERS COMPENSATION IN MICHIGAN Workers Compensation Agency Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth Lansing, Michigan August 2006 WC-PUB-004
2 Portions of material in this booklet are based upon Workers Compensation in Michigan: Law and Practice, a book written by Edward M. Welch and published by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Ann Arbor, Michigan. As the copyright holder of that publication, the Institute of Continuing Legal Education has granted its permission to use the material in this way. The Institute of Continuing Legal Education is located at 1020 Greene Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan , phone (toll free). The Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, religion, age, or disability in employment or the provision of services. This brochure will be made available in alternate formats upon request. Printed under the authority of the Workers Disability Compensation Act of Total Printed: 5,000 Per Copy Cost: $0.588 Total Printing Cost: $2,938.39
3 1. INTRODUCTION... 1 What is workers compensation?...1 What is the purpose of this booklet?...1 Where did workers compensation come from? COVERAGE UNDER THE ACT...3 Who is covered by the Workers Disability Compensation Act?...3 Are farms and farm workers covered?...3 Can a partnership or small business be exempted from the Act?...3 What if a person is self-employed?...4 Are family members covered?...4 Are independent contractors exempt from the Workers Disability Compensation Act?...4 Where can I get more information about coverage under the Act?...4 Is an employer always better off to avoid coverage under the Workers Disability Compensation Act? INSURANCE AND SELF-INSURANCE...5 Must employers purchase workers compensation insurance?...5 What is self-insurance?...5 Are there penalties if an employer does not obtain insurance or permission to be self-insured?...6 Are workers protected if an employer or an insurance company goes bankrupt?...6 How is the price of workers compensation insurance set?...6 Where can I get information about insurance? COVERAGE...7 When and where are workers covered?...7 Is a worker covered when he or she is traveling?...7 Is everything that happens at work covered?...7 What about recreational and social activities? CIVIL LAWSUITS...8 Can a worker sue for damages other than workers compensation?...8 When can a worker sue his or her own employer?...8 Can a worker sue someone other than his or her employer if the other party is at fault? DISABILITY...10 Who is entitled to receive disability benefits?...10 Should a worker who has not completely recovered try to return to work?...10 Must an injured worker accept the offer of a job?...10
4 What if the job pays less?...11 What if the worker does not think he or she can do the job that is offered?...11 Does the job have to be the same as the one the worker was previously doing?...11 Must an employer offer a job to a worker?...11 What happens if the worker returns but cannot continue?...12 Must the work cause the injury?...13 What if the work is only one of the causes of an injury?...13 Are gradual injuries and occupational diseases covered? DEATH BENEFITS...14 Are death claims treated the same as disability claims?...14 Who are considered dependents of the deceased worker?...15 What is the rate of death benefits?...15 How long are death benefits paid? SPECIAL BENEFITS...15 What are specific loss benefits?...16 What is total and permanent disability?...16 Which workers can benefit if they qualify as totally and permanently disabled?...16 Who is considered totally and permanently disabled?...17 How much does a totally and permanently disabled worker receive?...18 What are second injury cases?...18 Is there any special incentive under the Workers Disability Compensation Act to hire handicapped workers...19 Is there any special help for a young worker with high earnings potential who is injured at a low-paying job?...19 Are there special provisions for police officers and fire fighters? WAGE-LOSS BENEFITS...21 What benefits can a worker receive?...21 How are wage-loss benefits calculated?...21 How is a person s average weekly wage determined?...21 Are fringe benefits included?...22 How do you determine 80 percent of the after-tax value of a given wage?...22 Are there maximums and minimums?...22 Must a worker pay income tax on workers compensation benefits?...23 When and for how long are benefits paid?...23 Are any adjustments made in the rate of benefits?...23 Is there a penalty for the illegal employment of minors?...24 Are workers compensation benefits affected by other
5 benefits a worker receives?...24 What if a worker is employed on more than one job?...25 What is an advance lump sum? MEDICAL BENEFITS...25 What medical benefits is a worker entitled to receive?...25 How is the doctor chosen?...25 Can a worker refuse medical treatment?...26 How are medical bills handled? VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION BENEFITS...26 What rights does a worker have to vocational rehabilitation?...26 Must a worker take part in vocational rehabilitation?...27 Are vocational rehabilitation benefits offered automatically?...27 Is vocational rehabilitation important? PROCEDURES...28 Are workers compensation claims usually disputed?...28 What happens in the ordinary case?...28 In what way is a worker required to give notice of an injury or make a claim for benefits?...29 What other time limitations apply?...30 What reports is an employer required to file concerning workers compensation?...30 Can a worker or employer get help with these procedures?...31 How are formal dispute procedures started?...31 What is mediation?...32 What is a pretrial?...32 In what way are small claims treated differently?...32 How are trials conducted in workers compensation cases?...33 What right do the parties have to appeal the decision of a magistrate?...34 Does the worker receive any benefits during an appeal?...34 What is arbitration?...35 Is interest payable on workers compensation?...35 Is there any penalty if an employer does not pay the benefits it owes?...35 What if the employer simply refuses to make payments that are ordered?...36 When can a worker get a settlement of his or her workers compensation claim?...36 How are attorney fees calculated?...37 Are the records of these state agencies open to the public?...38
6 13. ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED IN WORKERS COMPENSATION...39 Who is responsible for paying workers compensation?...39 What state agencies are responsible for workers compensation?...39 Table 1 Specific Loss Schedule...41 Table 2 Average Weekly Wage Rates...42 Offices to obtain information and/or ask questions regarding workers compensation
7 An Overview of Workers Compensation in Michigan 1. INTRODUCTION What is workers compensation? Workers compensation is the system we use to provide wage replacement, medical, and rehabilitation benefits to men and women who are injured while at work. What is the purpose of this booklet? This booklet provides a general outline of workers compensation law in Michigan. It is not intended to be a legal document and it is not intended to cover every possible situation. We hope, however, that this will provide general guidelines for the majority of problems that arise. In other situations, workers, employers, and insurance companies will need to consult with their attorneys for more specific advice. Much of this book deals with situations that have resulted (or are likely to result) in disputes and litigation. It should be pointed out, however, that most workrelated injuries are resolved without dispute and without the need for litigation. In most cases a worker who is injured receives medical treatment and is paid workers compensation benefits voluntarily by the employer or its insurance carrier. In time the worker is rehabilitated by returning to his or her former job or another one with the same employer. The problem cases the disputes are the few that demand the attention of those who manage the workers compensation system. Only those unusual cases find their way into administrative tribunals and courts and finally result in the interpretations of the law that are discussed here. Accordingly, while this book will try to define the limits of workers compensation by describing the extreme cases, the reader is reminded that most cases do not involve extreme or unusual circumstances. It should also be remembered that the law is often changed by the Legislature and is constantly being interpreted by the courts. Furthermore, there are always new questions about workers compensation that come up. There are many areas in which the courts have not yet given us a clear interpretation of what the law 1
8 means. As you read this you will find many instances in which we cannot answer all of the questions that arise. This booklet, however, will do the best it can to provide general guidance. Where did workers compensation come from? Before 1912, a worker who was injured in the course of his or her employment could sue his or her employer in a civil or tort action, which was the same remedy available to a person injured under other circumstances. The tort remedy, however, had certain problems. It required the worker to prove that the injury occurred because the employer was negligent and the employer had three important defenses: (1) that the worker was also negligent, (2) that the worker knew of the dangers involved and assumed the risk, or (3) that the injury occurred because of the negligence of a fellow employee. Under this system it was very difficult for workers to recover against their employers. If they did win, however, they could receive virtually whatever damages a jury wanted to give them. In 1912 Michigan, along with most of the other states, adopted a workers compensation act. The new remedy is essentially a no-fault system under which a worker no longer has to prove negligence on the part of the employer, and the employer s three defenses were eliminated. The intent of the law was to require an employer to compensate a worker for any injury suffered on the job, regardless of the existence of any fault or whose it might be. In return for this almost automatic liability, the Act limited the amount that a worker could recover. Workers are now entitled only to (1) certain wage loss benefits, (2) the cost of medical treatment, and (3) certain rehabilitation services. Under the old system, workers had been able to recover for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and other damages that a jury might award. Recovery under workers compensation is limited to these three areas, no matter how serious the injury. 2
9 2. COVERAGE UNDER THE ACT Who is covered by the Workers Disability Compensation Act? Nearly all employers in Michigan are covered by workers compensation. This includes both public and private employers. In fact, when talking about workers compensation, it is easier to discuss the exceptions. There are a few classes of workers who are covered by federal laws and are not covered by the Workers Disability Compensation Act of Michigan. Employees of the federal government (such as postal workers, employees at a veterans administration hospital, or members of the armed forces) are covered by federal laws. People who work on interstate railroads are covered by the Federal Employers Liability Act. Seamen on navigable waters are covered by the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, and people loading and unloading vessels are covered by the Longshoremen s and Harbor Workers Compensation Act. Virtually all other workers and employers are subject to Michigan s law. Certain very small employers are exempt. If a private employer has three or more employees at any one time, or employs one or more workers for 35 or more hours per week for 13 or more weeks, the employer is subject to the Workers Disability Compensation Act. (Section 115). Are farms and farm workers covered? Agricultural employees are exempt under certain special circumstances. An agricultural employer, however, may voluntarily cover its workers. Can a partnership or small business be exempted from the Act? The employees of partnerships and corporations are covered. However, Section 161 of the Act provides that under certain circumstances named partners and officers who are also shareholders of small, closely-held corporations may exempt themselves from the Act. Firms which wish to exclude partners or officers of a corporation but have other employees can do this by making arrangements with their insurance company. Firms in which all of the employees are either partners or owners of a small corporation may obtain a certificate of their exemption under the Act by contacting the Insurance Division of the agency. Its phone number and address is found in the back of this booklet. 3
10 What if a person is self-employed? A business that is neither a partnership nor a corporation but is owned by one person is called a sole proprietorship. The owner of that business is selfemployed. The employees of a sole proprietorship are covered by the Workers Disability Compensation Act, but the sole proprietor (the person who owns the business) is self-employed. He or she is not an employee of anyone and accordingly is not covered by the Act. Are family members covered? Section 161(2) of the Act provides that certain family members of an employer may be excluded from the Act. Are independent contractors exempt from the Workers Disability Compensation Act? If one company hires another company to come in and do some work for it, the second company is ordinarily an independent contractor and not an employee of the first company. Sometimes, however, a company hires one person to come in and perform a specific job and disputes arise as to whether or not that person is an employee or an independent contractor. Section 161(1)(n) of the Act states that if the worker does not maintain a separate business, does not hold himself or herself out to and render service to the public, and does not employ other workers, the worker will be considered an employee. Where can I get more information about coverage under the Act? Questions often arise concerning the interpretation of the coverage and exclusion requirements of the law. Information and assistance concerning these issues is available from the Insurance Division of the Workers Compensation Agency. That number is listed in the back of this booklet. The Insurance Division has a booklet which provides more information about employers, employees, and independent contractors. It can be obtained by writing to the Insurance Division at the address listed in the back of this booklet. 4
11 Is an employer always better off to avoid coverage under the Workers Disability Compensation Act? Many employers believe it is desirable to find some way to be exempt from the Workers Disability Compensation Act. In many cases this may be correct. It must be remembered, however, that the Act provides protection to employers as well as workers. If an injury occurs in covered employment, the worker is automatically entitled to certain wage loss, medical, and rehabilitation benefits. The worker, however, is limited to those benefits. The employer is protected from any other lawsuit by that worker. If a person establishes his or her business in such a way that it is exempt from coverage of the Act, that business is giving up the protection from civil liability that is afforded by the Workers Disability Compensation Act. This factor should be taken into consideration along with the potential costs of workers compensation. 3. INSURANCE AND SELF-INSURANCE Must employers purchase workers compensation insurance? The law requires that every employer subject to the Act must provide some way of assuring that it can pay benefits to its workers should they become injured. Most employers in Michigan provide this security by purchasing an insurance policy from a private insurance company. The insurance company then reports to the agency that it is providing coverage for that employer. Some employers, however, are self-insured. What is self-insurance? Some employers who are financially sound (and usually quite large) are selfinsured. An employer can only be self-insured if it obtains permission from the agency. The agency requires employers to demonstrate a very sound financial condition in order to be self-insured. Group self-insurance is another option that is available. Under these plans several small employers which operate the same kind of business and belong to the same trade organization can band together to obtain approval for selfinsurance as a group. 5
12 Are there penalties if an employer does not obtain insurance or permission to be self-insured? There are severe penalties for the failure of an employer to provide workers compensation coverage. First of all, if a worker is injured, he or she may sue the employer for civil damages. If the employer was at fault for the injury, this might result in the payment of a great deal of money by the employer. Secondly, the Workers Compensation Agency actively enforces the Workers Disability Compensation Act. It has the authority to go into court and seek an order prohibiting the company from employing any persons in their business until such time as proper workers compensation insurance coverage is obtained. Finally, the employer may be subject to a fine of $1,000 or imprisonment for not less than 30 days nor more than 6 months, or both. Each day for which the employer is uninsured is considered a separate offense. Are workers protected if an employer or an insurance company goes bankrupt? There are two provisions in the law to protect workers in the event of bankruptcies. The Self-Insurers Security Fund is funded by assessments on other self-insured employers. Should a self-insured employer go bankrupt, the Self- Insurers Security Fund has the responsibility for making payments to injured workers. Should this occur, it is very important that the injured worker give notice of his or her claim to the Self-Insurers Security Fund immediately. There is also a guaranty fund which assumes responsibility if an insurance carrier becomes bankrupt. How is the price of workers compensation insurance set? Workers compensation insurance rates are based upon the classification of the employees to be covered. The classification refers to the type of work the individuals perform. Insurance companies establish a premium rate for each classification. However, there are often many adjustments to these basic rates. Since 1983 Michigan has had competitive pricing of workers compensation insurance. In many states an insurance bureau sets uniform rates that insurance companies are required to follow in selling workers compensation insurance. In Michigan insurance rates are now set on a competitive basis in the marketplace. Because insurance companies do not all charge the same rate for the same workers compensation coverage, it is very important for a business, either 6
13 directly or through its insurance agent, to shop around for the best price on workers compensation insurance. In shopping for insurance, price is a very important consideration but an employer should also inquire concerning the services that the insurance company will provide. This includes the services concerning claims as well as prevention and loss control. Where can I get information about insurance? Information about insurance, self-insurance and group self-insurance is available from the Insurance Division. These phone numbers and address can be found in the back of this booklet. 4. COVERAGE When and where are workers covered? Of course, to be compensable the injury must happen at work. Workers compensation is designed to cover only injuries which arise out of and in the course of the employment. In the majority of cases it is obvious whether an injury happened at work. There are, however, many times when this becomes questionable. Is a worker covered when he or she is traveling? Generally speaking, if a worker is injured on the way to or from work, he or she is not covered. If, however, the worker is on the employer s premises when injured, then he or she is covered. If a job requires a person to travel, he or she is covered while traveling. However, if the worker deviates from the business travel, he or she may not be covered. Is everything that happens at work covered? The courts have recognized that a certain amount of horseplay is to be expected on most jobs and that if a worker is injured as a result of such horseplay, that injury is compensable. The courts have also held, however, that there is a limit to this situation. If the worker is injured as a result of his or her intentional and willful misconduct, he or she is not entitled to benefits. The courts have held 7
14 that if an injury results from a violation of a rule which is clearly announced and regularly enforced by the employer, the worker is not entitled to workers compensation benefits. What about recreational and social activities? Section 301(3) of the Act provides that if an injury results from an activity, the major purpose of which is social or recreational, it is not covered under the Act. If a worker is injured at a company picnic or office Christmas party, he or she is probably not covered. This may, however, depend upon specific circumstances. For example, a salesperson who was entertaining prospective clients might be covered. 5. CIVIL LAWSUITS Can a worker sue for damages other than workers compensation? An individual injured at work can only receive workers compensation benefits and cannot sue for other damages. This is provided for in Section 131 of the Act. There are a few exceptions to this rule. When can a worker sue his or her own employer? Intentional torts Section 131(1) provides that an intentional tort is an exception. This means that if an employer deliberately takes an action that is specifically intended to injure a worker, the worker can sue the employer. Suits based on contract or other statutes There are other laws that give workers a right to sue their employers. These include Civil Rights statutes, labor laws, and other similar Acts. The workers compensation law does not deprive a worker of the right to sue under those circumstances. Workers may also have a right to sue their employer if there was a contract between them which the employer breached. 8
15 Generally under these circumstances the worker is not suing as a result of a personal injury or occupational disease. It is lawsuits based on an injury or a disease that the Workers Disability Compensation Act prohibits. Uninsured employers Section 641(2) of the Act provides that if an employer is covered by the Act but fails to provide security for workers compensation (see Chapters 2 and 3 above), a worker who is injured on the job may sue that employer for civil damages. Retaliation Section 301(11) of the Workers Disability Compensation Act provides that an employer cannot discriminate against an employee because the employee exercised his or her rights under the Workers Disability Compensation Act. Can a worker sue someone other than his or her employer if the other party is at fault? Most civil suits resulting from work-related injuries involve third parties. If someone other than either the worker, the employer, or a coworker is responsible for an injury, that third party can be sued. Thus, if a worker is injured because of the bad design of a machine which the employer purchased from an independent company, the worker can sue the manufacturer of that machine for civil damages. Since these cases are in civil court, they are often very expensive and time consuming. Accordingly, they are usually only worthwhile if there is a serious injury and some third party is clearly at fault. If an employer has paid workers compensation benefits to a worker and the worker later obtains a recovery from a third party, the employer is entitled to be paid back for the workers compensation benefits it paid to the worker. The employer, however, must pay for its share of the attorney fees and costs in the lawsuit against the third party. 9
16 6. DISABILITY Who is entitled to receive disability benefits? Sections 301(4) and 401(1) of the Workers Disability Compensation Act state: As used in this chapter, disability means a limitation of an employee s wage earning capacity in work suitable to his or her qualifications and training resulting from a personal injury or work related disease. The establishment of disability does not create a presumption of wage loss. In order to receive benefits, a worker must be disabled as defined above. However, the fact that a worker is disabled is not enough to obtain benefits. In addition to being disabled, the injury or disability must be work-related and there must be a wage loss. Benefits can also be denied if the worker has refused a reasonable offer of employment or has established a wage-earning capacity. All of these factors will be discussed below. Section 373 of the Act contains a special definition of disability for retirees. It makes it harder for a retiree to obtain benefits. A person is considered a retiree if he or she is receiving a pension or retirement benefit (but not a disability pension) that was paid for by the employer. To be disabled, a retiree must prove that he or she is unable to perform work suitable to the employee s qualifications, including training or experience. Should a worker who has not completely recovered try to return to work? In most cases of work-related injuries, the most desirable result is a return to work. Indeed in the vast majority of cases the worker gets better and goes back to work and that is the end of the case. Even if the worker is not completely recovered, it is to the advantage of both the employer and the worker for the worker to return to a job that he or she can perform. The following sections discuss the legal and practical reason why this is so. Must an injured worker accept the offer of a job? If the employer or anyone else offers an injured worker a job which he or she can do, the worker must accept the job or face the loss of benefits. Sections 10
17 301(5)(a) and 401(3)(a) provide that if a previous employer, another employer, or the Unemployment Insurance Agency makes an offer of reasonable employment, the worker must accept the job or lose benefits. Sections 301(9) and 401(7) provide that reasonable employment is work that the employee can perform, poses no clear and proximate threat to the employee s health, and is within a reasonable distance from the employee s residence. Reasonable employment is not limited to work suitable to the employee s qualifications and training. What if the job pays less? If the job that is offered is a lower paying job, the worker will continue to receive workers compensation benefits based upon the difference in wages. (Benefits are discussed more fully in Chapter 9.) What if the worker does not think he or she can do the job that is offered? Disputes often arise concerning whether or not a worker can do the job that is offered. This is a question that can only be answered in individual cases and often requires the expert opinion of a doctor. Of course, a worker should never do a job that will cause injury or harm. In general, however, a worker is always better off to try a job that is offered. If a worker tries the job and is unable to do it, benefits continue or resume; but if the worker refuses to try the job, the employer is likely to challenge that worker s right to continuing benefits. Does the job have to be the same as the one the worker was previously doing? The job offered does not have to be at the same skill or pay level that the worker was doing. As mentioned above, however, if it is a lower paying job, the worker continues to receive benefits based upon the difference in wages. Must an employer offer a job to a worker? The law does not require the employer to offer a job. Most enlightened employers, however, try to make work available for their injured employees whenever they can. First of all, there is a money factor. An employer is better off to have an individual on the job doing work in return for wages than to have the individual at home receiving workers compensation. Accordingly, although 11
18 there is no legal requirement that an employer offer work, it is financially better off if it does. Even more important it must be remembered that everyone is better off if the worker goes back to work as soon as possible. Most men and women in our society recognize their responsibility to perform work in return for their wages. Most people want to go back to the job as soon as they can. Most people who have worked and supported themselves and/or their families feel uncomfortable when they are not able to work. If they remain in that unhappy and uncomfortable state longer than is necessary, it becomes harder and harder for them to go back to their jobs. Many employers in Michigan are finding that disabilities are shorter and the costs lower if they are willing to go out of their way in helping their injured employees get back to the job. Sometimes this requires making a small change in the person s work station. Sometimes it requires moving some people around in order to find a job the person can do. Some employers even create special transitional workshops for injured employees to work in temporarily. Whatever it takes, most people find that the sooner an employee can get back to the job, the better off everyone is. What happens if the worker returns but cannot continue? If a worker returns to a job, tries and is unable to do it, his or her benefits should be resumed. Of course, in some cases, there may be disputes over whether the worker really tried and whether the job was too hard to do. If the worker returns to work for a period of time and then leaves, the question of whether benefits resume depends upon whether or not the new work established a wage-earning capacity. That, in turn, depends upon several factors including (l) how long he or she continued to work after returning, (2) the nature of the work performed, and (3) the reasons for leaving work. Generally if he or she returned for less than 100 weeks, it is most likely that the work will not establish a wage-earning capacity. If the worker returned for between 100 and 250 weeks, the work may or may not have established a wageearning capacity. If the return was for more than 250 weeks, the work probably will have established the wage-earning capacity. The nature of the work is also a factor. If the work was a favored job especially created for this worker, it probably will not establish a wage-earning capacity. On the other hand, if it was a job regularly performed by other workers, it probably will establish a wage-earning capacity. 12
19 Finally, if the worker leaves the job for reasons beyond his or her control, the payment of benefits is more likely to be resumed. If, however, the worker voluntarily leaves the job, benefits will probably not resume. Must the work cause the injury? Yes the work must cause the disability. If John Doe simply comes down with the flu while on the job, he is probably not entitled to workers compensation benefits. The work must somehow be the cause of the disability. What if the work is only one of the causes of an injury? The work does not have to be the only cause. It is enough if the work causes, contributes to, or aggravates a condition which results in disability. Some of us can lift 200 pounds without any difficulty. Some of us, however, would severely hurt our back if we lifted 100 pounds. The law does not make this distinction. If a person does something at work that causes him or her to become disabled, the worker is entitled to benefits. It does not matter if there was some pre-existing weakness or if the worker was born with some condition that made him or her more susceptible to injury. This is an old principle of law that has been applied by the courts to all kinds of damage actions, including workers compensation. There are some special rules for certain conditions. In cases of heart disease, mental disabilities, and conditions of the aging process, the worker must prove that the employment aggravated or accelerated the condition in a significant manner. In cases of mental disability, the condition must be caused by actual events of employment. A worker is not entitled to benefits if he or she simply imagined something at work which caused the disability. Are gradual injuries and occupational diseases covered? When the workers compensation law was first passed, there had to be an accident in order for benefits to be paid. That has long since been changed. If Mary Smith did not hurt her back by a single incident but her back gradually became painful as the result of lifting over and over, day after day, she can still be entitled to workers compensation benefits. This is what the law calls an injury not attributable to a single event. Another special category is occupational diseases. At first no diseases were covered by the Act. Then only listed diseases were covered. Then all occupational diseases were covered but certain special conditions were laid down 13
20 for the payment of compensation benefits in occupational disease cases. Most of those have been gradually taken out of the law. Section 431 of the Act provides that if, on an employment application, a worker willfully and falsely represents in writing that he has not previously suffered from the disease which is the cause of the disability or death, the employer is not responsible for workers compensation benefits. There is no similar provision relating to injuries. There are certain occupational diseases (and now injuries in certain industries) that are treated specially. Silicosis was a very frequent disease among foundry workers. When occupational diseases began to be covered by the law, there was concern that the foundry industry would go out of business if they had to pay full compensation. Accordingly, the law was changed to provide special protection under those circumstances. Under the present law, if a worker suffers from certain dust diseases or receives an injury while performing certain work in the logging industry, he or she receives exactly the same benefits as if the injury had occurred in some other way, but the employer receives special protection. After the first 104 weeks or the first $25,000, whichever is greater, weekly benefits are paid by the employer but the employer is reimbursed from a special fund to which all Michigan employers contribute. 7. DEATH BENEFITS Are death claims treated the same as disability claims? Generally, the same principles apply to death cases. The issues discussed in Chapter 4 above regarding when and where workers are covered by workers compensation apply to death cases. In general, the question of causation is treated the same in death cases as in disability cases. A major difference is that in death cases there must be a dependent in order to receive wage loss benefits. It sometimes happens that a childless, unmarried worker is killed on the job leaving no dependents. In that case, his or her estate receives a burial allowance not to exceed $6,
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text:
Jessie J has revealed she called BBC bosses and got them to rearrange the dates of The Voice next year so she could take part.
Living up to her tag of being difficult, Jessie admitted her new autobiography, which came out yesterday, is now factually wrong because of her U-turn about being on the talent show.
She said: "Here is the deal. When I was writing the book my tour dates and the dates of The Voice clashed.
"I was gutted that I couldn't find any way around it. I had to say 'do you know what, I need to prioritise my tour and my fans'.
"But I was really gutted so I called the head of the BBC and said 'can we talk about this, I don't feel right I am the only one not doing it'.
"I think people would expect to see all four of us(judges) and I didn't want to miss out.
"So I sat with them and we looked at the dates and we jigged things around and I was then able to do it. So my book is lying."
Jessie, who was criticised for being high maintenance on last year's show after complaining about microphones and stylists, insisted all four judges would be back in 2013 including Tom Jones and Will.I.Am.
Speaking to Alan Carr on tonight's Chatty Man on Channel 4, she added: "It was so much fun, I genuinely mean that.
"I learnt a lot about myself and watching myself back I am a bit irritating sometimes.
"But for me I am always honest. You cant get anywhere if you try to blur your way to the top."
Asked what changes might be made to the show after ratings flopped in the live stages, she added: "It is pretty similar to before, I think the coaches and team know what works and what doesn't work.
"I might get in trouble here but personally I am not a major fan of the whole back story, 'let's all feel sorry for everyone'.
"It is a bit like 'been there, done that, seen that'. Isn't it about the voice?
"It is fine in the beginning but you cant play on it all the time."
Showing off a new hairstyle, 24-year-old Jessie also insisted she was changing her style.
Asked about her trademark fringe, which has disappeared, she said: "It decided to retire.
"I just felt like I wanted a change, I kinda looked at a picture of myself and was like 'you look a bit scary'.
"When you are working constantly, you wear too much make up, you do too much.
"I was a bit like the spikes, the hair, you're pale, the everything. I was a becoming a bit of a cartoon.
"So I thought it was about time my forehead got some attention.
"I might go as my old self for Halloween though, like Jessie J's past."
Jessie also told how in her new book she reveals she used to eat spiders as a kid.
She said: "I used to sit by plant pots, I don't know why.
"There is a picture of me about three with bright yellow hair covered in mud and eating ants and stuff.
"I used to eat tiny little spiders, I don't know why. I was an odd child.
"On the beach everyone would be making sandcastles and I'd be making a TV.
"And on videos I am there in the background making whale noises."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Top 10 energy talks on Ted.com
I just had to share this little gem that I came across recently. It's a playlist of the top 10 alternative energy talks on Ted.com. If you haven't seen Ted talks yet then you are missing out! It's a meeting of some of the greatest thinkers and creative minds on the planet who get together to give talks and presentations on their insights and often groundbreaking discoveries.
Here's a great playlist regarding alternative energy.
Here's a screenshot:


text:
I will totally admit that I am a detail-oriented person. I deal well with the tangible things, so if there is an opportunity to figure things out ahead of time, to schedule and arrange, I am on it.
And that is when the Universe will usually giggle and throw the banana peel in my path. I fall for it every time.
My daughter was born with a congenitally malformed tibia, which allowed the top of her foot to lie flat against her shin for many months. Over the years, it has straightened out, but she has been monitored for a surgical procedure that is timed to happen before her major growth spurt. As she just turned 11, her orthopedist finally gave the go-ahead, and I meticulously scheduled vacation time, wrote letters to the school to make up homework, booked a hotel room in case of bad weather--being January in the Northeast--and arranged for care for my son and the cats back home.
Which meant my daughter went and got a bad cold and fever the night before the surgery. Postponed until next month, more plans have been made, all with the knowledge that NOTHING is carved in stone.


text:
There is regular summer school — classrooms, long sessions, a term paper under a tight deadline.
Then there is the other kind of summer school, the one where you get to hike the rainforest, find your future, become a hero.
"I'm studying the travel patterns of backpackers, to really look at the ideology of the group, rather than just the habits," said Mark Salvaggio, a sociology student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Salvaggio has been on an adventure for the past two months, hiking around Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. His goal: to figure out if the mostly bohemian backpackers who frequent the area change the environment they cherish so much.
You can't do that in a classroom.
"A university education is not just learning facts," said Chris Hudgins, UNLV's dean of the college of liberal arts. "It's about learning how to work with facts, learning analysis, learning how to think."
And branching outside your comfort zone by traveling should be a part of that, he said.
"If you only experience the familiar, you're not really stretching your brain that much," he said.
Salvaggio, a Ph.D. student in sociology, has been stretching more than just his brain. He's been backpacking through Central America most of the summer.
Sometimes, he just watches the backpackers. Sometimes, he talks to them, or he visits the hostels they stay in, or he surveys the travelers.
He looks for patterns. He wants to see if the ideology of free-spirited travel lines up with reality, or if it's just another form of old-fashioned Western tourism that will inevitably change that which is being observed.
Salvaggio, 29, who gets a stipend as a graduate assistant paid for by the university, paid for the trip himself.
He hopes to publish what he finds in his research sometime this fall. The topic will be something like how hostels change with market commercialization, which could have real-world applications later on.
Salvaggio expects to be home this week, just in time for the start of school.
There are many other examples of students traveling over the summer to study something they can't learn in a classroom: anthropology students on an archaeological dig or living with orangutans in the rainforest; hospitality students working in Europe; a journalism student going to Africa; creative writing students traveling all over the world; a biology student studying at one of the nation's premier biomedical research facilities.
That last one would be Austin McDonald, 21, who just spent 10 weeks studying some really complicated stuff at Washington University in St. Louis.
Basically, McDonald, a senior in biology, was studying how to switch genes on and off. He originally wanted to be a doctor, but when he discovered biomedical research, he knew that's what he wanted to do.
"I actually get into it," he said.
Washington University paid for McDonald's fellowship, as it does every summer for a group of top students from around the country.
McDonald said studying there was a great experience that reinforced his career choice.
David Ord, a professor at UNLV's dental school, said a trip several dental students will be taking soon should do the same thing.
About 10 students and two faculty members plan on leaving today for Tonga, a small, island nation in the South Pacific.
"They don't have a lot of ability there to see everybody who needs care," Ord said.
He said the students will perform basic procedures — cleaning, fillings, that sort of thing — for free for the mostly rural population. The students pay their own way, he said, but work out of a dental clinic on the nation's main island that is funded by a philanthropic foundation.
"It's kind of like a MASH unit," Ord said.
He said a similar trip last year revealed that toothbrushes are uncommon in the area, and so tooth decay was a major problem. In addition to procedures, education is a main goal.
"The people are incredibly grateful," he said. "As soon as they hear we're there, they line up out the door and crowd the building just waiting to get in to see us."
That kind of appreciation can help the students see how important what they do really is, he said.
And it's one of the goals of the dental school to produce graduates who will take community service seriously, he said.
Not only now, but for their entire careers.
Contact reporter Richard Lake at rlake @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307.DENTAL STUDENTS HEADING FOR TONGA:
About 10 students and two faculty members are going to Tonga, in the South Pacific, to perform basic procedures, such as cleaning and fillings, for free. The students pay their own way, but work out of a donated dental clinic.
Summer experiences included anthropology students on an archaeological dig or living with orangutans, hospitality students working in Europe, a journalism student going to Africa, and creative writing students all over.
Austin McDonald, a senior in biology, spent 10 weeks at Washington University in St. Louis, studying how to switch genes on and off.
Mark Salvaggio, a sociology student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for the past two months has been hiking around Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama to figure out if the mostly bohemian backpackers who frequent the area change the environment they cherish so much.


text:
Blessed Manuel Domingo y Sol
Priest in the diocese of Tortosa, Spain. Founded the Diocesan Laborer Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to help foster and support priestly vocations and seminarians.
- 25 January 1909 in Tortosa, Spain
- "Blessed Manuel Domingo y Sol". CatholicSaints.Info. 23 January 2017. Web. 11 December 2018. <>


text:
Despite State Department warnings misleadingly and unfairly targeting Kenya as a terrorism target, we did three back-to-back safaris this year, and they may have been the best ever.
Because of the State Department advisory many of the lodges were well below capacity, and on many of our game drives our vehicles were often the only vehicles in the field. That certainly made for a fantastic shooting opportunity for us, and we did extremely well this year.
If you've followed my comments about Kenya's conservation role and, particularly, the plight of the Masai Mara, you may know that I have had very mixed feelings about the area. Unquestionably, Kenya offers the best shooting in the world. True, I love Tanzania, especially for the wildness and sense of wilderness that the Serengeti and other locations provide, but dollar-for-dollar, Kenya is the best shoot out there. However, I seriously wondered how long I might continue to go to Kenya because one of our favorite locations, the Mara River Camp, had become an isolated, Maasai-surrounded camp in a sea of humanity. The sense of wildness was certainly being lost.
THINGS HAVE CHANGED! This year, we radically changed our itinerary
to put us in the heart of the Masai Mara, rather than the edge
as we'd been in the past. This has made all the difference --
in terms of wildlife, its accessibility and its diurnal activity,
and also in terms of an absence of Maasai. Consequently, we had
great activity with leopards, lions, cheetahs, black rhinos, and
a host of other species. Whereas only a few years ago I felt that
I might not be going to Kenya too much longer, now I feel that
my future in Kenya, our continued offerings of Kenya Photo Safaris,
may never end. We can't wait to get back!
Using a digital camera for a huge proportion of my shooting, I shot Kenya in an entirely different way. For one, I did a lot of 'digital stitches' to shoot landscapes or, as in the case of the crocodile below, to shoot a croc in segments to create a huge, extremely detailed file. Further, I could shoot scenes of high contrast -- bright and dark, and composite them to create an image that was EXACTLY WHAT I SAW, not what the film could render.
On the negative side, me and the other 'digital dudes' spent a lot of time on the computer, downloading images and, in my case, saving images to TIFF files. On the positive side, my editing is well on the way to being complete, although I still have to download the DVDs I wrote onto my computer hard drive at home, so there's still work, no doubt. At this point, I don't know exactly how much work that will be, but regardless, it sure was fun shooting the digital camera.
At Lake Nakuru, I photographed the Kikuyu dancers under the weak artificial light one evening. Later, on the computer I made a quick collage of the various members of the group.
Mary still shot film, but shot with a new strategy (as did I when shooting film, too). Instead of shooting a lot of the same old things (for us), we saved our film for dynamic moments or action where we let the motor drive fly. A few of our past participants have shot this way and one in particular always captures great stuff that we have probably missed by 'punching' out frames rather than letting the motor drive rip.
This shot of Mary and these eagles are excellent examples. Mary's camp dinner portrait was taken at our Samburu bush dinner, with the light provided by the candle and flashlight shown. I was dialed up to 1200 ISO and hand-held the shot -- probably 1/4 second or so. Not a 18x20 portrait, I'm sure, but not a bad slide show illustration. With flash, the image would have looked artificial and flat, but with digital I could preserve the atmosphere of the scene.The fish eagles were, literally, hand-held snap shots where the bird launched itself and flew, and I picked it up and acquired focus and zipped off a blazing 3 frames per second (OK, that's slow) with my digital camera. The joke was, it's only pixels, and if the shots didn't work, so what? As it turned out, a lot of them did.
A slow-shutter speed attempt to capture a giraffe necking battle. Fast speeds 'freeze' the shot, but sometimes fail to convey the motion. In truth, I wasn't happy with most of the results, but some were effective in showing the motion.
We did extraordinarily well with lions this year, especially with black-mane males. Cubs were few this year, but we had some luck in portions of the Mara, and every safari had lions mating, so I'm sure there'll be plenty of cubs in the future.
For years we used to rely on the leopard Zawadi, Half-Tail's daughter, a very habituated cat in the upper Mara. But in the last few years Maasai pressure was such that we often only spotted Zawadi once in 6-8 weeks. Accordingly, we began to rely on Samburu for our best leopard opportunities, which worked, but this year the middle Mara area produced a female leopard with two cubs that gave our third trip one of the best leopard photography opportunities we've ever had.
The cheetah Princess, the daughter of Queen, climbed atop our vehicles several times, giving those inside an intimate view of the cat -- from inches away. At one point, as Mary shot with a wide-angle lens, Princess flopped down and actually sat upon her lens!
Between trip's two and three Mary, Carolyn Hooper, and I spent an extra two days in the Mara. The leopard we'd been hoping to see with cubs was spotted at a wildebeest crossing area and we hoped that maybe we'd get lucky and see a kill. On our last full day we arrived at the crossing shortly after sunrise and spotted the leopard sitting below the bank, waiting in ambush for the hundreds of gnus that were milling about, moving slowly toward the crossing. For the next five and one half hours we waited beneath a tree for the wildebeest to move and make the crossing. Twice vehicles scared them off, but fortunately they returned, and when the crossing began the leopard struck.
Hundreds, if not multiple thousands, of gnus streamed across the deep ravine, with individuals tumbling backwards into the herd as they tried scrambling up steep banks. Moving en masse they resemble a living river, but suddenly the current broke and gnus scattered in all directions. By the panic we knew the leopard had presented itself and just as we were about to move a gnu stepped into the open, with the leopard hanging on. The gnu shook free and the leopard disappeared and we figured it had missed its kill. It had not, though, for after dropping off the adult gnu she must have jumped onto a young gnu, for seconds later, when we drove forward she was struggling to bring down the gnu. The contest lasted thirty seconds to a minute -- not very long, and Mary and I fired away, hoping to get a clear shot and hoping, too, that we didn't goof up the exposure. Carolyn did video and captured the entire scene on tape! As I write this neither Mary or I know if we caught the action or fired at the right exposure ....now, if I had shot digital....
We were following a pride of lions one morning as they hunted. The cats moved determinedly and were heading towards a kill other lions had made. En route one of the lionesses got ahead and encountered a pack of hyenas, and we witnessed our first real 'lion-hyena war' with the hyenas surrounding and snapping at the lioness. The lioness initiated the attack, bowling one hyena over, but within seconds the rest of the pack were on her and had the advantage. The lioness retreated, with hyenas snapping at her hindquarters and tail. Fortunately she escaped, but when we saw her a few minutes later we could see the smears of blood where the hyenas had bitten her hind legs. Remarkably, she walked normally and showed no notice of her wounds. Later we filmed the hyena pack at the remainder of the kill, polishing off a wildebeest that they eventually dragged off.
We had spotted a Martial eagle swooping down on prey in the Uaso Ngiro River in Samburu, which landed somewhere ahead of us on our side of the river. When we drove forward to find it we spooked the bird, mantling its prey right in front of us while we scanned the trees above! The eagle flew to the other side of the river and we drove over, and incredibly our driver, David, located the spot on the opposite side. The eagle was flighty and took off, and I got a series of shots as it flew away, clearly carrying a young savanna monitor lizard in its talons.
Right after dawn we discovered this severely injured zebra which we assume had been grabbed by a large crocodile. The zebra pulled free, but a huge chunk of its hindquarters were ripped out, with large peg-like holes from the croc's teeth both above and below the wound. The zebra still walked with some ease so we assume the wound was fresh, but we knew that a lion would make a quick kill if it saw the zebra. As it turned out, two lionesses appeared and saw the zebra, but at the distance involved the lionesses could not make out the injury and the zebra's movement did not betray its frailty. We were tempted to stay with the zebra all day, figuring that it would be killed eventually, but we didn't. That evening, returning to camp, we again spotted the zebra, alive but walking stiffly and with a limp. We did not see it again.


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Homel: officials are included in district electoral commissions as representatives of public associations
At first sight, it's difficult to reproach the Homel authorities in violations of the electoral laws: about a half or even more representatives of the electoral commissions belong to public associations. However, if we have a close look at them it becomes clear that these are the same officials who work at executive committees and head enterprises and state organizations. The city has four district electoral commissions, and their composition is almost identical. Each commission includes a representative of Belaya Rus, the Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRSM), veterans, the Belarusian Women's Union and the trade union of workers of state institutions. All these organizations are so-called 'state NGOs'. There are also such associations as the union of military officers and the peace foundation.
Let's look at the composition of the Tsentralny District Electoral Commission of Homel. It includes such people as Maksim Bibikau – a member of the central committee of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union who was nominated to the commission by this organization; Volha Bahdanovich – legal adviser of the Homel regional organization of the trade union of workers of state institutions; Andrei Harbachou – Deputy Chairperson of the Tsentralny District Executive Committee of Homel (was nominated by collecting electors' signatures) The head doctor of the Homel regional polyclinic Aliaksandr Druian was included in the commission as a member of Belaya Rus. By the way, he, Harbachou worked in electoral commissions at the parliamentary election 2008, as well as the deputy chief sanitary doctor of the Homel region, Rastsislau Zinovich and the officer of the Homel Region Executive Committee Liudmila Ramankova. This time Zinovich was nominated to the electoral commission by the staff of his polyclinic and Ramankova – by electors' signatures. Aliaksandr Staratsitarau, director of the Homel Hosplempradpryiemstva, worked in the regional electoral commission during the local election 2010 and in a constituency commission during the parliamentary election 2008, as well as the director of the Homel Trading Center Harant Piatro Stsepanenka. This time the both of them were nominated to the commission by collecting electors' signatures. The head of the personnel department of the Tsentralny District Executive Committee Natallia Shumakova was included in the commission as a member of the Belarusian Union of Women.
The same situation can be observed in the Savetski District Electoral Commission. In particular, the head of the personnel department of the Savetski District Executive Committee Stanislau Chemezau was included in the commission as a representative of the public association Belarusian Peace Foundation, the Deputy Chairperson of the Savetski DEC Mikalai Maly – as a representative of the Belarusian Union of Military Officers. By the way, the both of them worked in electoral commissions during the local election in 2010 and the parliamentary election in 2008.
Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections


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Throughout this past year, we impacted 260 women to make healthy mamas for healthy babies!
We provided prenatal care to 100 women and girls and taught 160 moms through the mother's classes. A total of 260 women and girls were impacted by our Healthy Pregnancy Program.
Estimated girls & women affected
The 260 women and girls that we served through the Healthy Pregnancy Program (both by providing prenatal care and by teaching mother's classes) have families who are directly impacted by their healthier lives. We multiplied 260 women and girls with an average family size of five to get to 1,300. We then divided that by two to estimate the number of girls and women indirectly affected.
Estimated community members affected
Last July, with your support, we launched our Healthy Pregnancy Program. The program provides education to women on how to have the healthiest pregnancy possible, and also offers them free prenatal vitamins and monthly check-ups. Since we launched the program, we have served 100 women at various stages of pregnancy. In addition to distributing prenatal vitamins and conducting prenatal exams, our nurses have been teaching mother's classes – weekly education sessions for the moms in the communities. We have hosted three such classes in two of our communities – Magsasaka and Aplaya. Through these classes, the moms have engaged in discussions on a variety of crucial topics including:
- The changes a woman's body undergoes during pregnancy
- The importance of getting consistent prenatal and postnatal care
- Planning/budgeting for giving birth in a clinic
- Combating nausea and other pregnancy-related issues
In the last year, our Healthy Pregnancy Program has equipped 160 moms with knowledge that will help them have the safest and healthiest pregnancy possible. Through the mother's classes, our nurses have also worked with the girls and women to shift harmful attitudes, such as the notion that the husband always knows what is best for the family or the reluctance of parents to talk to their kids about sex. In these ways, our Healthy Pregnancy Program has provided women and girls with the tools they need to feel empowered and prepared for motherhood.
Get personal
Recently, as the mother's class was wrapping up in Aplaya, Daisy, one of our nurses, encouraged all the moms to follow along as she led them through an original song and dance that reviewed the basics of performing a self-breast exam. As the moms danced and sang, mirroring Daisy's movements, their enthusiasm was infectious. Daisy made learning a crucial topic engaging and non-threatening, and the moms loved it!
Risks and challenges
When we provide clinical services in the communities, such as conducting prenatal check-ups, we partner with the local barangay (village) health centers. Often, we are providing services that, due to lack of resources, the barangay health centers are unable to effectively provide. Also, in some cases, local barangay health workers misunderstand our services, viewing us as competitors rather than collaborators. When such misunderstandings occur, it creates tension between our clinical staff and the local barangay health workers. We are continuously working to emphasize that our presence in the communities is meant as a partnership, and that our clinical staff is there to help fill the gaps in service delivery.
What we've learnt
Since implementing the Healthy Pregnancy Program, we have worked with some women who are currently on contraceptives, but want to have another child. When these women see a doctor, s/he would recommend that they start taking prenatal vitamins immediately. Thus, whenever we encounter a woman who is actively trying to get pregnant, we start her on prenatal vitamins at that point in time, rather than waiting until she is pregnant. This helps to ensure that the mom-to-be is getting the appropriate nutrients that are crucial for the baby in its first few weeks of formation. While there are still lots of unplanned pregnancies, when pregnancies are planned we have realized the importance of beginning prenatal care as early as possible.
Next steps
We've partnered with a funder for the continuation of the Healthy Pregnancy Program; however, we still need to raise money for high-risk pregnant women to be able to give birth in a clinic. We're renewing our Clinics When it Counts project, which can be viewed HERE. Thank you for your continued support as we strive to ensure that the moms in our communities remain healthy during their pregnancies!
Our budget was $5,540. We spent only a little bit more than we'd envisioned. We spent more for pregnancy kits, transportation and medical supplies than planned, but spent less than projected on prenatal vitamins.
Line Items
Projected budget
Amount spent so far
Pregnancy Kits
Midwife Salary
Medical Supplies
Prenatal Vitamins
Pregnancy Tests
Healthy beginnings
Since fully funding our project, Roots of Health has been very busy working with pregnant women and girls in our six community sites. We've been providing education:
- Helping women to understand the changes their bodies are going through,
- Providing helpful advice on what to eat and how to combat nausea and other pregnancy-related issues, and
- Counseling them on ways to have the healthiest pregnancy possible.
We've also been providing each of our pregnant clients with monthly prenatal checkups, free supplies of prenatal vitamins, and help in planning and budgeting for where they will give birth. A donor recently gifted us with a handheld Doppler apparatus and that has been an amazing addition to our prenatal care. Our midwife and nurses use the Doppler with our pregnant clients in order to allow each of them to hear their developing baby's heartbeat. This is incredibly reassuring to expectant mothers, and to us!
In the last three months we've served 61 women and girls at various stages of pregnancy.
Risks and challenges
We are providing a service that the Philippines government should be providing but simply cannot due to a lack of resources. This has been a very popular program as nearly all of the women now understand how beneficial and important prenatal care is.
While many of our clients are thrilled to be expecting a baby, we've also been witness to sorrow and worry when we administer pregnancy tests that come back positive. Some women have difficulty imagining how they will cope with yet another mouth to feed and another person to care for on their meager resources.
Our more broad reproductive health education programming teaches women how to plan their pregnancies and how to use contraceptives if they do not wish to become pregnant. However, many of the women we serve in our Healthy Pregnancy outreach are first-timers to our programs and many of these pregnancies were unplanned. Abortion is illegal in the Philippines and when we do witness sadness at the news of a pregnancy all we can do is provide as much compassion and support as possible to the expectant moms and assure them that we will do everything necessary to make sure they have a healthy pregnancy.
Get personal
Recently our nurse, Deng, and a visiting nurse, Peggy Berroth, who donated our Doppler, were in our site Busngol. Peggy was training Deng in how to use the Doppler and after administering the prenatal checkup to our client, Ana, Deng lay Ana down to find the baby's heartbeat. Soon there was a crowd of kids and neighbors gathered around Ana to see what would happen next. When the sound of the baby's heartbeat was projected into the little hut, Ana started crying and there were shouts of joy and amazement from the gathered audience.
Afterwards Ana explained to us that the income she makes from her little sari-sari (convenience) store is hardly enough to support her family, and her husband has been out of work for months so the idea of another baby, her 7th, is daunting. However, she is so happy that we are providing her with free care, to know that her pregnancy is progressing well and that we will be with her throughout her pregnancy, ensuring she stays healthy.
Next steps
We will continue to provide education, prenatal care and support to each of our pregnant clients. Thank you for allowing us to help these women ensure the healthiest start possible for the lives they will be bringing into this world!
We've spent $1,237 of our projected total budget of $5,540.
|Line Items
|Projected budget
|Amount spent so far
Pregnancy kits
Midwife salary
Medical supplies
Prenatal vitamins
Pregnancy tests
Educate moms to reduce maternal mortality rates.
Why we care: Currently, in the Philippines, 11 women die everyday due to preventable complications during pregnancy and childbirth.
How we're solving this: Nurses and midwives provide education to women and girls on how to have the healthiest pregnancy possible, and also provide them with checkups and vitamins.
The last time Liana was pregnant, she didn't know what prenatal care was, and never had any checkups. She didn't take prenatal vitamins or increase her food intake because she worried that the baby would grow too big, which would lead to a more difficult delivery. She didn't exercise because she thought this would harm the baby, and when she got sick she bought antibiotics without consulting a doctor, not knowing that it could harm her unborn child. When it was time to deliver, she gave birth at home in the company of a traditional healer, who pressed and pushed on her belly, endangering her and her baby's health. After birth, Liana wanted to clean herself but waited for nine days before bathing, because this is what the traditional healer instructed.
Many women in our communities have experiences similar to Liana's. Because they haven't received education on the importance of prenatal health care, they don't realize that many of their actions contribute to riskier pregnancies, potentially harming themselves and their babies. To combat this, Roots of Health has launched a Healthy Pregnancy Program. Our nurses and midwife provide education to women and girls on how to have the healthiest pregnancy possible, and also provide them with free prenatal vitamins and monthly prenatal checkups. Not only are our clients now more informed on how to have healthier pregnancies, but they also have a better understanding of the process of their baby's formation, and how various things can affect the baby's health. When it is time to deliver, our expectant mothers call on our midwife and nurses, who assist them with birth at home, or transfer them to a local clinic in cases of emergencies. Our clients in this program tend to have less traumatic deliveries, healthier, higher-birth-weight babies, and faster recovery times. These mothers are also more likely to quickly establish successful breastfeeding.
Our program is incredibly important in helping reduce maternal mortality, as currently in the Philippines 11 women die everyday due to preventable complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Please support this program to help us ensure healthier mothers and babies for all of the women in our five communities in 2013.


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MS13-063 is a Windows Kernel update, and is said to resolve the physical vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. There have been many issues regarding the botched patch KB 2859537, and Microsoft has been trying hard to overcome this problem. The source of this problem can be traced down if a blue screen appears, after installing the patch. The problems that have been reported include those with Avast, Final Fantasy, and Defiance, and involve the developers who are working on the kernel in unexpected ways.
A few days ago, Microsoft published a Known Issues paragraph in the KB 2859537 and it stated as follows, "Some users may experience issues with the certain programs after they install security update 22859537. In some cases the programs may not successfully start. We are also aware of limited reports that certain users may encounter difficulties restarting their computers after applying this security update. Microsoft is researching this problem and will post more information in this article when the information becomes available."
As soon as this issue cropped up, users and developers contacted Microsoft help to find a solution. Apart from these usual ones, some more complicated issues were there too, and the developers had a hard time fixing these. For example, there were issues with the small game developers over this error. However, Avast has come up with an update to run the Rift game after authentication, by installing the latest patch, the lack of which was a common issue earlier. According to Jurgen Timmerman of Microsoft, the following problems have been reported on the Microsoft's Answers forum:
BSOD with the same 05 error code
Windows profile
Application error while opening, or the application not starting at all.
Rift/Final Fantasy/Defiance does not work anymore
Not all control panel functionalities work.
IE/ Chrome or Firefox does not want to start to update.
Windows profile gone corrupt.
Unable to install applications or start the machine.
Although the Microsoft help chat support clarified many issues to the users, the number of problems seemed to get bigger. A user claimed that the blue screen, which appears due to the error, is mainly caused by rootkits which were undetected previously. Later on, it revealed that there were two rootkits viz. BackBoot.gen and Cidox.b, which were responsible for the blue screen. Hence, after deleting the files, he was able to start his system successfully.


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Learn more about Customer Lifetime Value, what it is, why it's important, and how to calculate it.
We'll walk you through 4 classes regarding customer segmentation. These courses will help you understand what customer segmentation is, how to use it, and why it's a game changer in the eCommerce industry. You'll be given step-by-step instructions to segment your customers (basic and advanced) and we'll dive into some behavioral segmentation and key campaigns to run.
In the Replenishment courses we provide 5 themed classes that should leave you with a comprehensive understanding of what automated replenishment campaigns are for online retail. These classes also help you understand technology's role in predicting order dates, an overview of best practices and how these types of campaigns can be combined with segmentation to enhance customer experience.
Coming soon! We're working hard to get this class up and running. Check back soon for more information
Coming soon! We're working hard to get this class up and running. Check back soon for more information!


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Or at least tonight is the last chance to do late night shopping in Liverpool city centre whilst being entertained by the likes of giant robots, ladies on skates dressed as Christmas baubles and a wandering mobile disco duo. The entertainers are out on the street from 5-8pm tonight!
Oh and if you are Christmas shopping in Liverpool then my book is still available in Waterstones!