Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Cal/OSHA Ends COVID Prevention Non-Emergency Standards
Feb 11 2025 // California has ended enforcement of its COVID-19 nonemergency standards. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health announced the expiration of its COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Standards as of February....
Viewpoint: Early Executive Actions by Trump Portend a Major Contraction at OSHA
Feb 10 2025 // President Trump was sworn in for a second term the morning of January 20, and he spent the rest of that day setting a record for the most ever Day 1 executive actions. Among those Day 1 executive actions (and a couple...
‘Old School’ Job Search Benefits Injured Worker in Lost Wages Claim
Feb 7 2025 // A manufacturer and its workers compensation insurer thought an injured 60-year old service technician employee did not work hard enough to find a suitable replacement job as required to qualify for wage loss benefits....
OSHA Fines GE Appliance Maker Max Amount in Death of Alabama Worker
Jan 30 2025 // Safety regulators fined a GE appliance manufacturer the maximum amount allowed by law in the 2024 death of an Alabama worker who was killed after the company ignored standard safety procedures, the U.S. Occupational Safety...
Mississippi House Bill Puts New Rules on PBMs, But May Do Little for Workers’ Comp
Jan 29 2025 // A pharmacy benefits manager bill passed by the Mississippi House of Representatives last week may have little impact on drug costs in the state’s workers’ compensation system, even if that is part of the...
Washington Man on Workers’ Comp for 3 Years Caught on Video Carrying 48lb Table
Jan 29 2025 // A Pierce County, Washington, man has been ordered to pay back more than $60,000 to Washington’s workers’ compensation fund after videos reportedly showed he was working and carrying heavy objects in the years...
Two Workers Injured in Explosion at Cannabis Facility
Jan 27 2025 // Two workers were injured in an explosion and fire at a cannabis extraction facility on Maryland’s Eastern Shore last Wednesday, state fire officials said. Firefighters were called to PharmaCann in Stevensville for a...
Cal/OSHA Says Safeway Exposed Workers to Serious Hazards at Largest Warehouse
Jan 27 2025 // The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health cited Safeway $182,000 in proposed penalties for safety violations that reportedly put roughly 1,700 workers at risk of serious injuries at the company’s...
OSHA Cites Contractor in Death of Worker Who Fell From Boston Theater Scaffold
Jan 24 2025 // A construction contractor could have prevented the death of a worker at the Cutler Majestic Theater in Boston by following required fall protection measures, a federal investigation has found. Responding to a referral from...
Tennessee to See Another Drop in Average Workers’ Comp Costs This Year
Jan 22 2025 // Average workers’ compensation loss costs for the voluntary market in Tennessee will drop by 3.6% starting March 1, marking the 12th straight year for decreases in the state. The National Council on Compensation...
School Employee Kicked 25 Times in 11 Days Denied Workers Compensation
Jan 17 2025 // A Virginia student assistant who suffered injuries in both knees after being kicked 25 times over a period of 11 days is not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. The Virginia Workers’ Compensation...
California Workers’ Comp Public Self-Insured Losses Rise Despite Claim Volume Decline
Jan 17 2025 // Increases in average medical payments and average indemnity payments drove public self-insureds’ total paid losses up last year even though the number of claims fell, a new report shows. The California Workers’...
Florida Appeals Court Upsets Applecart on Workers’ Comp Statute of Limitations
Jan 16 2025 // A recent decision and concurring opinion by a Florida appeals court may have upset years of practice and could raise costs for workers’ compensation insurers. Some claims that carriers were once ready to close out of...
OSHA Wants Soap Maker to Clean Up Its Act in Response to Chemical Release
Jan 16 2025 // A Chambersburg, Pennsylvania soap and detergent manufacturer faces $161,310 in federal penalties after an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation of a chemical gas release that sent a dozen...
Texas Drywall Company Owner Faces Workers’ Comp Fraud Charges
Jan 15 2025 // The owner of a Texas drywall company is set to appear in Travis County District Court on February 12 to face three counts of fraud totaling $170,000, the Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’...
‘Epidemic’ of Hidden Cams? SC Workers’ Comp Lawyer Sued After Arrest for Videos
Jan 15 2025 // Two months after his law license was suspended and he was charged with illicitly filming renters at his beach property, a South Carolina workers’ compensation attorney now faces a civil lawsuit by one of the alleged...
Construction Firm Owner Sentenced for Tax, Mail and Workers Compensation Fraud
Jan 15 2025 // A Hopkinton, Massachusetts man was sentenced on Jan. 10, 2025 in federal court in Boston for defrauding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Travelers Insurance Co. over wages he paid to employees of his two construction...
Dermatologicals Now the Costliest Drug Group in California Workers Comp
Jan 15 2025 // Dermatologicals, which include a number of high-priced, private label drugs, account for the biggest share of the total drug spend in the California workers’ compensation system, a new report shows. Data from the...
Cal/OSHA Says Safeway Exposed Workers to Serious Hazards at Largest Warehouse
Jan 10 2025 // The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health cited Safeway $182,000 in proposed penalties for safety violations that reportedly put roughly 1,700 workers at risk of serious injuries at the company’s...
Insurer Upheld in Declining to Defend Employer Against Injured Worker’s Lawsuit
Jan 10 2025 // The New Jersey Supreme Court recently ruled that an insurer had no duty to defend an insured employer against an injured employee’s personal injury lawsuit alleging negligence and intentional harm. The high court...
