Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
A.M. Best: New Regulations, Market Conditions and Financial Crisis Wreak Havoc on Workers’ Comp Line
Sep 21 2009 // Challenging market conditions, the financial crisis and the recession drove profitability downward for the U.S. workers’ compensation market in 2008. Changing regulatory conditions and reforms have also impacted the...
Employers Must Keep Company Picnics and Team-Building Activities Voluntary
Sep 21 2009 // When Fun ‘n Games at Work Take a Bad Turn Phyllis Young and her co-worker and friend, Sarah Bales, won the hula-hoop contest and the balloon toss, making them the favorites to also win the three-legged sack...
New York Carpenter Arrested for Workers’ Comp Fraud
Sep 18 2009 // The owner of a Long Island carpentry business has been charged with fraud for failing to disclose over $900,000 in sales to his workers’ comp insurer – a move which lowered his insurance premiums by...
Massachusetts Allows Public to Verify Workers’ Comp Coverage
Sep 17 2009 // Massachusetts has introduced a new Web site that allows anyone to see if a business has workers’ compensation insurance. The Web site was launched by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The site...
Pitts Named Florida Workers’ Compensation Judge by Gov. Crist
Sep 17 2009 // Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has appointed Neal P. Pitts of Orlando as judge of Compensation Claims, succeeding Ivy Cream Harris in the Jacksonville district. Pitts, 55, has been a sole practitioner since 1987 and from 1983...
Monroe Employer Arrested in Louisiana Workers’ Comp Crackdown
Sep 15 2009 // The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) announced a third arrest this month as part of the the agency’s statewide crackdown on employers who are alleged to have committed workers’ compensation fraud. Agents...
Oregon Restaurants Get Rating Return from Workers’ Compensation Group
Sep 11 2009 // Liberty Northwest, a Liberty Mutual Agency Markets regional company, announced strong return results for its Liberty Northwest/Oregon Restaurant Association (LNW/ORA) workers’ compensation insurance program. The...
Hawaii Workers’ Compensation Costs Drop Again
Sep 11 2009 // Workers’ compensation insurers in Hawaii have filed to reduce by 4.1 percent the loss cost factor that goes into the rates charged to employers. This marks the fifth year in a row that workers’ compensation...
Alleged $1.2M in Workers’ Comp Fraud Leads to Arrest in Louisiana
Sep 11 2009 // The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) and the state’s attorney general reported the arrest of a Louisiana couple for alleged workers’ compensation premium fraud. Mauro and Keren Aguirre, owners of Escapade...
Missouri Judge Blocks Firing of 3 Workers’ Comp Judges
Sep 11 2009 // A Missouri judge has blocked the firing of three administrative law judges who decide workers’ compensation cases, saying the state could not eliminate their jobs as part of budget cuts. Cole County Judge Jon Beetem...
Indiana Appeals Court Affirms Work Comp Coverage for Obesity Surgery
Sep 11 2009 // An Indiana appeals court has upheld the ruling of the state’s workers’ compensation board that an employee at a pizza restaurant is eligible for treatment for obesity under a workers’ compensation...
Study Shows California Workers Compensation Drug Costs Up
Sep 10 2009 // Despite the adoption of California workers’ compensation medical reforms and a pharmacy fee schedule in 2004, a new study finds that both the average number of prescriptions and average prescription drug payments per...
Atterberry Re-Appointed to Missouri Workers’ Comp Review Board
Sep 9 2009 // Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has re-appointed Jack D. Atterberry of Jefferson City to the Workers’ Compensation Determination Review Board. The board reviews determinations by an insurer or advisory organization regarding...
Colorado Officials Defend Pinnacol Actions
Sep 8 2009 // Executives from Colorado’s state-chartered workers’ compensation insurance company defended themselves against accusations of lavish spending and excess profits on Friday and they told lawmakers it would be...
A.M. Best: Workers’ Comp – How Bad Will It Get?
Sep 8 2009 // Challenging market conditions, the financial crisis and the recession drove profitability downward for the U.S. workers’ compensation market in 2008, and A.M. Best Co. expects the impact to linger through 2009 and...
Oklahoma Considers Privatizing State-backed Workers’ Comp Insurer
Sep 8 2009 // In a recent meeting of a task force considering privatizing Oklahoma’s state-backed workers’ compensation insurer, CompSource Oklahoma, Nevada insurance executives said workers’ comp rates have dropped in...
AIG Pays $900K to Reconcile Mass. Workers’ Comp Payout Problems
Sep 8 2009 // AIG has paid an additional $900,000 to the Central Artery Tunnel (CA/T) Project in Massachusetts as part of an ongoing reconciliation of premiums and residual market payouts stemming from the insurer’s settlement of...
Calif. Workers’ Comp Fund Sale Faces Many Hurdles
Sep 7 2009 // In a move that was not completely unexpected, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner will file a lawsuit to have the $1 billion sale of State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) assets declared...
Idaho Agent Knows Job Safety Training and Employee Communication Pay Off
Sep 7 2009 // Nielsen Teaches Employers How to ‘Close the Window’ On Rising Comp Costs The best way insurance agents can teach employers about workers’ compensation is to get to know their business. Idaho insurance...
Oregon Says Workers’ Comp Must Pay for Weight Loss Surgery
Sep 7 2009 // Weight-loss surgery can be covered in Oregon by workers’ compensation provided it is needed to treat a job-related injury. The Oregon Supreme Court ruled that SAIF Corp., the state chartered agency, must pay for...
