Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Washington Dry-Cleaner Owner Accused of Faking Injury in Workers’ Comp Case
Jun 28 2021 // The owner-operator of an Olympia, Wash., dry cleaning business faces a felony charge alleging he stole workers’ compensation benefits by faking the severity of his injury. Byung Sung Kang, 54, is scheduled for...
Texas Data Call for COVID-19 Workers’ Comp Claims Extended
Jun 28 2021 // The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) has extended its mandatory data call to selected insurance carriers seeking certain information related to COVID-19 injuries reported to on...
Lessons from the Pandemic for Workers’ Compensation
Jun 28 2021 // The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us tough lessons. We have learned the strengths and limitations of globalization, our public health systems, and our ability to respond during a crisis. In the U.S. workers’...
OSHA Announces $21M in Workplace Safety Grants for Nonprofits
Jun 28 2021 // The Department of Labor announced funding opportunities for more than $21 million in Occupational Safety and Health Administration training grants for non-profit organizations. The first availability will provide $10...
Workers’ Compensation Profit Picture Looks Good in Short Term: Fitch
Jun 21 2021 // With favorable results driven by recent reductions in claims frequency and further recognition of material reserve redundancies, workers’ compensation underwriting performance is expected to remain strong in 2021,...
Rise in Texas Workers’ Comp Claims in 2020 Ends 20-Year Downward Trend
Jun 21 2021 // Despite the economic slowdown resulting from the COVID-19 business closures, the total number of workers’ compensation claims reported to the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation rose in 2020 by 34% compared...
Mass. Construction Company Owner Charged with Payroll, Workers’ Comp Fraud
Jun 15 2021 // The owner of a Revere, Massachusetts, construction company was sentenced on June 10, 2021, on charges of engaging in an under-the-table payroll fraud scheme that defrauded the government of more than $500,000 and insurance...
Workers’ Compensation Profit Picture Looks Good in Short Term: Fitch
Jun 15 2021 // With favorable results driven by recent reductions in claims frequency and further recognition of material reserve redundancies, workers’ compensation underwriting performance is expected to remain strong in 2021,...
New OSHA Covid-19 Standard Covers Healthcare Employees Only
Jun 14 2021 // The Department of Labor has promulgated an emergency temporary standard (ETS) designed to protect healthcare workers but did not extend the rule to other high-risk employment such as manufacturing, grocery or high-volume...
New Jersey USPS Mail Carrier Charged with Workers’ Compensation Fraud
Jun 10 2021 // A New Jersey U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier has been charged with making false statements to obtain federal workers’ compensation benefits. Aida Perez, of Roselle Park, New Jersey, has been charged by...
Uptick in Texas Workers’ Comp Claims Ends 20-Year Downward Trend
Jun 9 2021 // Despite the economic slowdown resulting from the COVID-19 business closures, the total number of workers’ compensation claims reported to the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation rose in 2020 by 34% compared...
Scottish American Acquires Ohio Work Comp Specialist, Fastcomp
Jun 8 2021 // Wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent, Scottish American, has acquired Fastcomp of Boston Heights, Ohio. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Fastcomp was created in 1998 by an experienced team of...
Former Washington Logger Charged in Nearly $300K Workers’ Comp Scam
Jun 7 2021 // A Cowlitz County, Wash., man stands accused of faking injuries to collect nearly $300,000 in workers’ compensation benefits. James Joseph Thomasson, 52, of Kalama, was arraigned in Thurston County Superior Court on...
Cal/OSHA Cites Foster Farms, Agencies for COVID-19 Violations
Jun 7 2021 // Cal/OSHA has cited Foster Poultry Farms Inc. in Livingston, Calif., and four staffing agencies for not protecting workers from COVID-19. Cal/OSHA opened its inspection after receiving notification that an employee had died...
Workers’ Comp Insurer SUNZ Expands into 13 Additional States
Jun 1 2021 // Florida-based SUNZ Insurance Co. is now licensed to write workers’ compensation policies in 13 additional states: Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah,...
CWCI: California Workers’ Comp Direct Written Premium Fell 11.4% in 2020
May 28 2021 // Total direct written premium in the California workers’ compensation system fell by 11.4% in 2020, dropping to an eight-year low driven by the ongoing decline in insurers’ average charged rates and relatively...
Wild Well Catches Fire in Louisiana; Workers Injured
May 27 2021 // At least seven people were injured when a wild well in a coastal Louisiana marsh caught fire while they were trying to control it, news outlets report. The owners said that the fire was out within two hours after it...
Former Washington Logger Charged in Nearly $300K Workers’ Comp Scam
May 25 2021 // A Cowlitz County, Wash., man stands accused of faking injuries to collect nearly $300,000 in workers’ compensation benefits. James Joseph Thomasson, 52, of Kalama, is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Thurston...
Cal/OSHA Cites Foster Farms, Staffing Agencies for COVID-19 Violations
May 24 2021 // Cal/OSHA has cited Foster Poultry Farms Inc. in Livingston, Calif., and four staffing agencies for not protecting workers from COVID-19. Cal/OSHA opened its inspection after receiving notification that an employee had died...
Florida Construction Co. Owner Arrested for Evading Payment of Workers’ Comp Premium
May 21 2021 // The owner of a Florida construction business has been arrested for allegedly concealing payroll information to avoid paying more than $718,000 in workers’ compensation premiums, according to a statement from the...
