Ex-North Dakota Workers' Comp Chief Sentenced to Fine, Commu
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February 26, 2009 Thursday 11:55 AM EST
371 words
Ex-North Dakota Workers' Comp Chief Sentenced to Fine, Community Service
Sean P Carr
BISMARCK, N.D.
The former workers' compensation director in North Dakota will serve no time in jail after receiving a two-year deferred sentence and a fine of $2,000 for misspending tens of thousands of dollars in agency funds.
Sandy Blunt was also ordered to serve 1,000 hours of community service, said Assistant Burleigh County State's Attorney Cynthia M. Feland. The former executive director of the state Workforce Safety and Insurance agency could have received 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine after being convicted of one felony count of misapplication of entrusted property. He was charged for misallocating what Feland identified as more than $33,000 funds on staff bonuses, for food, gifts, trinkets and other items for employee meetings and functions, and on meals for state legislators (BestWire, Dec. 29, 2008).
If Blunt's record stays clear for two years, the conviction will be wiped from the record.
Blunt was fired in December 2007. A lower court had thrown out the charges against Blunt, but they were later revived by the North Dakota Supreme Court.
State Rep. Jasper Schneider, the Democratic candidate for state insurance commissioner in 2008, said he would have preferred a stiffer sentence, but the guilty verdict is the important thing. "I always thought North Dakota could do better than Sandy Blunt," he said.
Don Morrison, executive director of the North Dakota Center for the Public Good, said, "This sentencing is ending a really difficult and troubling chapter for the Workforce Safety and Insurance agency."
Morrison said a referendum approved by voters last year should make the agency more accountable. The referendum provided the governor with more authority over the state's workers' compensation body. It granted the governor the power to appoint the agency's director and to place its employees into the state personnel system. It also will allow for the appointment of independent administrative law judges to conduct hearings and make final decisions (BestWire, Nov. 6, 2008).
Workforce Safety & Insurance is North Dakota's sole workers' compensation provider. It pays for medical bills, lost wages, rehabilitation and other benefits.
(By Sean P. Carr, senior associate editor, BestWeek: Sean.Carr@ambest.com)
February 27, 2009
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February 26, 2009 Thursday 11:55 AM EST
371 words
Ex-North Dakota Workers' Comp Chief Sentenced to Fine, Community Service
Sean P Carr
BISMARCK, N.D.
The former workers' compensation director in North Dakota will serve no time in jail after receiving a two-year deferred sentence and a fine of $2,000 for misspending tens of thousands of dollars in agency funds.
Sandy Blunt was also ordered to serve 1,000 hours of community service, said Assistant Burleigh County State's Attorney Cynthia M. Feland. The former executive director of the state Workforce Safety and Insurance agency could have received 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine after being convicted of one felony count of misapplication of entrusted property. He was charged for misallocating what Feland identified as more than $33,000 funds on staff bonuses, for food, gifts, trinkets and other items for employee meetings and functions, and on meals for state legislators (BestWire, Dec. 29, 2008).
If Blunt's record stays clear for two years, the conviction will be wiped from the record.
Blunt was fired in December 2007. A lower court had thrown out the charges against Blunt, but they were later revived by the North Dakota Supreme Court.
State Rep. Jasper Schneider, the Democratic candidate for state insurance commissioner in 2008, said he would have preferred a stiffer sentence, but the guilty verdict is the important thing. "I always thought North Dakota could do better than Sandy Blunt," he said.
Don Morrison, executive director of the North Dakota Center for the Public Good, said, "This sentencing is ending a really difficult and troubling chapter for the Workforce Safety and Insurance agency."
Morrison said a referendum approved by voters last year should make the agency more accountable. The referendum provided the governor with more authority over the state's workers' compensation body. It granted the governor the power to appoint the agency's director and to place its employees into the state personnel system. It also will allow for the appointment of independent administrative law judges to conduct hearings and make final decisions (BestWire, Nov. 6, 2008).
Workforce Safety & Insurance is North Dakota's sole workers' compensation provider. It pays for medical bills, lost wages, rehabilitation and other benefits.
(By Sean P. Carr, senior associate editor, BestWeek: Sean.Carr@ambest.com)
February 27, 2009
Copyright © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy
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