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Lipstick on a work comp pig

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To lure employers from California, Nevada launched an advertising campaign featuring pigs and lipstick to tout its lower work comp costs and favorable tax structure.

In one 30-second commercial, a news anchor morphs into a pig while a voice advises business owners not to wait until they put lipstick on that pig to call the Nevada Development Authority.

A Los Angeles Times story says that Nevada's Development Authority is trying to take advantage of California budget woes to improve its dismal employment picture.

Another Nevada Development Authority commercial warns that if “California's Legislature keeps monkeying around, you can kiss your assets goodbye." That advertisement features a monkey hissing and spitting kisses while a voiceover touts lower work comp costs and zero taxes.

Costs may not be the only work comp contrast between California and Nevada.

Last month the Encinitas, Calif.-based Work Loss Data Institute released a report card grading state work comp systems. The grades reflect on claims outcomes such as average disability durations for each state.

California received a D grade while Nevada earned an A.

Some states with really bad report card grades, such as New York, have criticized the data used by WLDI. New York earned an F grade.

WLDI is a database development company. Its products include the Official Disability Guidelines which are “evidence-based disability duration” benchmarks.

Along with its report cards, WLDI provides a map allowing you to easily look up most states to see how their grades compare. That map can be found here.

Some may recall that during the last presidential election, President Barack Obama drew fire when he referred to putting lipstick on a pig while criticizing the McCain/Palin ticket.

Back then, Time magazine composed a nice history of the phrase and its use in politics. Time's history of "putting lipstick on a pig" is available here. The phrase is common in the auto industry when referring to throwing a paint job on a junk car.