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Minutes
Bureau of Labor Standards
Third Floor Conference Room
Staff Present: Ted
Bradstreet, Terry Hathaway, Desi-Rae Mason, Kurtis Petersons (Summer Intern),
& John Rioux.
Members Present: Peter Doran (MIOHE), Carol Eckert (MIOHE), Saskia
Janes (Maine Public Health Association), Ruth Lawson-Stopps
(Occupational Health Associates), Jonathan Lepoff (Consultant), Jeff Levesque (Maine
Workers’ Compensation Board), Kim Lim (Bureau of Labor Standards), Dwight
Littlefield (Maine Bureau of Health), Ivan Most (Strategic Occupational Health), & Leslie
Walleigh (Workplace Health).
Members Absent:
Brad Brown
(Bureau of Insurance), Valerie Carter (Bureau of Labor Education), Peter
Crockett (MLGH), Sharon D’Orsie (USM), Denise Dumont (U.S. HealthWorks),
Ron Dyer (DEP), Heather
Mason (Maine Safety Council), Steve Minkowsky (Maine Workers’ Compensation
Board), Louise Morang (MAOHN), Pat Philbrook (Maine State Nurses Association), & Jonathan
Torres (WorkMed).
Guest: Sandy Butler (UMO)
Ivan Most, Chair, opened the meeting at
Approval of
Governance Subcommittee Report –
Jonathan Lepoff. The members of this committee are Ivan Most, Saskia Janes, Carol
Eckert, and Jonathan Lepoff. The purpose of the governance subcommittee is to
look into nonprofit status for MORA. The positives of nonprofit status are:
acceptance of funds from third parties, enhanced ability to RFP’s, and in
charge of our own destiny. The negatives are: staffing issues (currently, BLS
provides staffing) and maintaining a web page (which BLS currently does). Carol
has contacted MIOHE members to officially disband that group and to turn over
the remaining funds to MORA. So far, there has been no negative response.
Saskia is investigating the cost of applying for non-profit status. Ivan is
responsible for creating a financial statement as of
Another issue is that whether MORA should
continue to meet as a large entity or should there be an Executive
Committee. Discussion followed. Should
MORA become non-profit, there would be a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and
Treasurer as well as chairs of the subcommittees which would make up the
Executive Committee. A larger group enables the ownership to be spread around
and more of a chance to meet colleagues.
An update from the Governance Subcommittee will
take place at the September meeting.
Misclassification of Independent
Contractors – Kurtis Petersons. Kurtis
Petersons, summer intern with the Maine Bureau of Labor Standards, did a power
point presentation on the findings of misclassification of independent
contractors, specifically in the construction industry. A handout, “Prevalence of Misclassification
in the Construction Industry”, was given to members. Kurtis had two (2) sources
of information; case studies and Unemployment Compensation (UC) tax audits. He
explained that the information he obtained was based on a random sample. The
two (2) groups showing the largest misclassifications were residential building
construction and carpentry and floor workers.
His conclusions are that targeting on the SIC 3 level could prove effective,
continue research in another industry to reveal another “hot spot” for
misclassified workers, and the 1099 relationship may exist and be worth looking
into. MORA should think about the implications regarding research or advocacy.
John announced that Kurtis will be doing this presentation again Monday, August
16th, at
Operative Document – Saskia Janes. The Operative Document will be presented at the
October meeting.
Plan Invitation Calendar – Ivan Most. Ivan asked for
suggestions for invitations to future MORA meetings. The following is a list
and possible dates.
Laura Fortman, Commissioner, Maine Department
of Labor December
Meredith Tipton,
Ann Bachus, Harvard
October
Peggy Filios, NIOSH Consultant for Occupational
Asthma
John Wise
John LeCasse
October/November
OSHA Representative
Dan Cote, MEMIC
Ivan will compose a letter to each of the above
folks, except for Peggy Filios, who Dwight Littlefield will contact.
Ruth Lawson-Stopps suggested that it might be a
good idea to have the Commissioner and an OSHA representative attend a MORA
meeting at least once a year.
Ivan also suggested that perhaps UNE graduate
students could be invited as guest speakers.
Discussion about MORA membership – OSHA, Safety
Council, Labor, Insurance, Maine Municipal Association, Earle Pease (Maine
State Workers’ Compensation), Beth Edmunds (Labor Committee).
Report of Harvard RFP’s – Ivan Most. Sandy Butler, UMO,
announced that the RFP on aging has been funded. Ivan extended an invitation
for
NORA/NIOSH Report – Ivan Most. Ivan is a member of the Intervention
Effectiveness Committee. NORA/NIOSH are creating a database of interventions to
help prevent the reinvention of the wheel. It should be completed by the end of
this year. Rick Neumeyer is setting it up.
Ivan is in the group who will publish a paper
on intervention effectiveness. This group will be reviewing 583 papers between
1998 and 2003. Should be ready within the next couple of years.
Prevention Data Advisory Group – Leslie
Walleigh. This
month’s meeting of the Prevention Data Advisory Group has been cancelled. At
last month’s meeting, Leslie did a presentation on Occupational Disease
Reporting. Plans are getting underway to prepare a report to the Legislature.
Next Meeting –
I.
Approval of August 11, 2004 Minutes
II.
Conference 2005 Update – Meeting with Leslie Ingraham
III.
Meredith Tipton, UNE – Guest Speaker
IV.
Calendar of Inviting Research Presenters
V.
Open Forum
VI.
Next Meeting – October 13, 2004 – Agenda
Chair Ivan Most adjourned the meeting at 11:55
AM.
Respectfully submitted,
Terry M. Hathaway