Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mass. Court Rules on Joint Employers’ Responsibilty for Workers’ Comp
Sep 8 2011 // Two employers can be held jointly responsible for workers’ compensation benefits for an injured worker whom they both classified as an independent contractor, a Massachusetts appeals court has ruled. The...
Vanek to Lead Internal Audit Division at Ohio Workers’ Comp Bureau
Sep 8 2011 // Dennis A. Vanek has been appointed as chief of the internal audit division at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC). Vanek most recently served as director of global audit services for Expedia, Inc. in...
California Passes Bill on Employer Rights in Workers’ Comp Arbitration
Sep 7 2011 // The California State Legislature on Tuesday passed a bill that California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said will make workers’ compensation policies more transparent and fair. The measure, Senate Bill 684,...
Ohio Chiropractor Sentenced for Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme
Sep 6 2011 // A Fairfield, Ohio, chiropractor who pled guilty in July to felony workers’ compensation fraud has been ordered to repay the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) more than $200,000. Bruce E. Holaday, owner...
North Carolina Defends Workplace Safety Record as Inspections Drop
Sep 6 2011 // Twenty years after the worst industrial accident in North Carolina history, there are signs that progress in worker safety made after the deaths of 25 people in a chicken plant fire is beginning to wane. The Charlotte...
Florida Eyes Cash Checking Firms
Sep 5 2011 // Florida officials want an investigation into the role of check cashing services in helping construction subcontractors avoid paying their share of workers’ compensation premiums. Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff...
Workers’ Comp Rate Decrease Filed in Oklahoma
Sep 5 2011 // Oklahoma’s overhaul of its workers’ compensation laws became effective Aug. 26, 2011, and almost immediately a filing was made to reduce workers’ comp insurance rates in that state. Oklahoma Insurance...
California Supreme Court Rules on Workers’ Compensation Payment Increases
Sep 5 2011 // The California Supreme Court has ruled that cost of living adjustments in total permanent disability cases are to be calculated starting the Jan. 1 after the injured worker started collecting his or her payments. The...
Texas Supreme Court: Bad Faith Claim Inconsistent with Worker’s Comp
Sep 5 2011 // The Texas Supreme Court has concluded that while bad faith claims against workers’ compensation carriers are not permissible under the state’s insurance code, claims made under the code against insurers for...
California High Court Rejections of Appeals Expected to Raise Costs for Workers’ Compensation System
Sep 5 2011 // The California Supreme Court has refused to hear several appeals on cases this year that threaten to bring higher costs for workers’ compensation and greater uncertainty for insurers. The Supreme Court announced on...
Florida Court Backs Workers’ Comp Benefits for Illegal Workers
Sep 5 2011 // Florida employers may be under more pressure to document the status of their workers after a panel of state judges ruled that illegal residents who are injured on the job are eligible for workers’ compensation...
Top 25 Workers’ Compensation Insurers
Sep 5 2011 // Based on Premium Growth From June 30, 2011 vs. June 30, 2010 On Aug. 16, 2011, The National Academy of Social Insurance reported that “the number of workers covered by workers’ compensation dropped by 4.4...
Florida Workers’ Comp Insurers Seek Hike
Sep 5 2011 // Florida business owners could see their workers’ compensation premiums go up if regulators agree to raise rates by a recommended statewide average 8.9 percent. The National Council of Compensation Insurance (NCCI)...
Workers’ Comp Rate Discount Part of Ohio Job Creation Plan
Sep 5 2011 // The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has proposed an economic development initiative that would offer workers’ compensation premium discounts to new employers in the state. With the goal of creating jobs,...
Conn. Guaranty Fund Must Share Workers’ Comp Claims
Sep 5 2011 // The state insurance guaranty fund can be considered the last insurer on a workers’ compensation risk that has multiple insurers and be initially liable for paying benefits to the injured employee, with the right to...
Former Oklahoma Attorney Sentenced for Workers’ Comp Fraud, Embezzlement
Sep 2 2011 // A former Tulsa, Okla., attorney has been sentenced in Tulsa County District Court to 10 years in prison for embezzling more than $1 million in clients’ benefits, Attorney General Scott Pruitt announced. William...
Texas Mutual Creates Work Comp Safety Group for Houses of Worship
Sep 2 2011 // Texas Mutual Insurance Co. announced a new workers’ compensation safety group: Texas Church Group. The group is open to qualifying nonprofit, faith-based organizations operating houses of worship, such as churches...
Texas Supreme Court: Bad Faith Claim Inconsistent with Worker’s Comp
Aug 30 2011 // The Texas Supreme Court has concluded that while bad faith claims against workers’ compensation carriers are not permissible under the state’s Insurance Code, claims made under the Code against insurers for...
Florida Targets Check Cashing Firms for Aiding Workers’ Comp Fraud
Aug 30 2011 // Florida officials, law enforcement officers and trade groups are lining up in an effort to stop checking cashing companies from facilitating workers’ compensation fraud in the construction industry. Headed up by...
Lawyers Claim Montana Workers’ Compensation Investigators Violate Privacy
Aug 30 2011 // Two Billings attorneys are asking the Montana Supreme Court to stop workers’ compensation investigators from practices that they say violate the privacy rights of workers’ comp claimants. The Billings Gazette...
