Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Supreme Court Strikes Down State Cap on Temporary Disability Benefits
Jun 9 2016 // The Florida Supreme Court has delivered another blow to Florida’s workers’ compensation system with a ruling today that the state’s statutory 104-week cap on temporary disability benefits is...
WCRI Study Finds ‘Noticeable’ Drop in Opioid Prescriptions in Workers’ Compensation Cases
Jun 9 2016 // A new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) found “noticeable decreases” in the amount of opioids prescribed per workers’ compensation claim in a majority of 25 states studied. The...
Former California Lawmaker Pleas Guilty in Money Laundering Case Involving Workers’ Comp
Jun 7 2016 // A former California Legislator on Monday pleaded guilty to crimes that included accepting bribes, some related to alleged bribes involving workers’ compensation fraud. Former Democratic Assemblyman Tom Calderon...
New Jersey Furniture Maker to Pay OSHA $123K in Settlement
Jun 7 2016 // A New Jersey furniture manufacturer has reached a settlement with a federal safety agency to pay $123,000 and fix a slew of health and safety violations, including exposing workers to a cancer-causing chemical. North...
P/C Commercial Insurance Business Expected to Deteriorate
Jun 6 2016 // Underwriting performance for the commercial lines sector of the U.S. property/casualty (P/C) insurance industry is likely to deteriorate in 2016, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings. The expected decline would...
IIABNY Lauds Committee’s Approval of Workers’ Comp Bill
Jun 6 2016 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York (IIABNY) applauded a New York Senate committee’s action to protect employers from surprise insurance premium hikes in their workers’ compensation...
How Well Do Oklahoma Opt-Out Plans Serve Injured Workers? It Depends, Study Says
Jun 1 2016 // A recent analysis of the workers’ compensation “opt-out” system in Oklahoma concludes that employer-run plans for injured workers may offer benefits that are equal to or better than those provided by...
Ohio Gun Shop Faces $194K in Fines for Workplace Hazards
May 31 2016 // Federal safety and health investigators say employees of an Ohio gun shop may face life-long health damage because their employer continues to expose them to lead hazards and has failed to establish a respiratory...
California Commissioner Lowers Workers’ Comp Advisory Rate
May 31 2016 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones adopted and issued a revised advisory pure premium rate, lowering the benchmark to $2.30 per $100 of payroll for workers’ compensation insurance. The change is effective...
NCCI Seeks to Raise Florida Workers’ Comp Rates by 17% in Light of Court Ruling
May 31 2016 // Florida businesses could soon be paying almost 20 percent more for workers’ compensation coverage. In response to a recent decision from the Florida Supreme Court, the National Council on Compensation Insurance...
California School District Aide Busted for Felony Workers’ Comp Fraud
May 26 2016 // An employee of a Southern California school district has been arrested on charges of workers’ compensation fraud for allegedly racking up $33,000 in treatments and disability payments. Juanita Denise Schmittle, 50,...
Martin Picked to Serve as CFO at LCTA Workers’ Comp
May 25 2016 // Louisiana-based insurance carrier, LCTA Workers’ Comp (LCTA), has hired Christine Martin as chief financial officer (CFO). A certified public accountant, Martin brings more than 20 years of financial management...
IIABNY Lauds New York Senate Committee’s Approval of Workers’ Comp Bill
May 24 2016 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York (IIABNY) applauded a New York Senate committee’s action to protect employers from surprise insurance premium increases in their workers’ compensation...
Investigation Solutions’ Scrutiny Leads Orange County DA to Allege $2 Million Workers’ Compensation Payroll Fraud
May 24 2016 // Irvine, CA, May 24, 2016- The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has charged an Irvine, California business owner and his bookkeeper with fraud for allegedly underreporting payroll to their workers’...
New York Auditors Find $3.45M in Faulty Workers’ Comp Claims
May 23 2016 // New York auditors report preventing 206 incorrect claims for $1.85 million in workers’ compensation and medical benefits last year while identifying 417 duplicate claims for $1.6 million paid over the past two...
Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Adds Lawyers PL Program, Plans Other Product Launches
May 23 2016 // Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies is now offering a lawyers professional liability policy in California, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and the District of Columbia with ten more states planned in...
Another Part of Oklahoma Workers’ Comp Act Struck Down
May 23 2016 // The Oklahoma Supreme Court dealt another blow to the state’s 2013 workers’ comp overhaul by finding unconstitutional a provision of the Oklahoma Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act pertaining to the...
Workers’ Compensation Market Improved, Grew Premium in 2015: NCCI
May 23 2016 // The workers’ compensation market is healthy and profitable. This year’s “State of the Line” report, published by the National Council of Compensation Insurance (NCCI), indicates that the...
New Chief Donnell: Independence, Objectivity in Workers’ Comp Remain NCCI’s Core Values
May 23 2016 // For more than 90 years the National Council of Compensation Insurance (NCCI) has served the workers’ compensation industry as a provider of data and information. Its mission has been to “help enable a healthy...
CDI: Trucking Company Owners Cheated Workers’ Comp Carrier out of Millions
May 23 2016 // A pair of California trucking company owners were arrested for cheating their workers’ compensation insurer out of millions of dollars. Alvin Shin Chen, 54, and Fiona Xilin Chen, 46, both of La Canada Flintridge,...
