Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Expansion of Workers’ Comp for COVID-19 Created Narrow Benefit in 6 States
Dec 21 2020 // While at least 17 states have passed laws or issued orders that expanded access to workers’ compensation benefits for employees who contract COVID-19, many of those directives are creating new exposure for only a...
California Workers’ Comp Written Premium Down 12% over 9 Months of 2020
Dec 18 2020 // Workers’ compensation written premium in California for the first nine months of 2020 was 12% below that for the first nine months of 2019, according to a quarterly experience report released on Friday by the...
OSHA Updates Targeted Workplaces Inspection Program
Dec 17 2020 // The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is updating its inspection program that targets its enforcement resources to establishments with the highest rates of injuries and illnesses. The Site-Specific...
Texas Workers’ Compensation System’s Path to Wellness
Dec 16 2020 // Since 2003, insurance rates in the Texas workers’ compensation system have dropped by nearly 72 percent, according to a new study released by a research group within the state’s insurance department. In 2003,...
Court Nixes Ruling Granting Workers’ Comp Benefits to Family of Slain Alabama Worker
Dec 14 2020 // A Jefferson County court erred when it ruled the city of Birmingham should have to pay benefits to relatives of a city worker who was shot to death while cutting grass, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ruled Friday. The...
California Workers’ Comp Public Self-Insured Med-Only Claims Drop
Dec 11 2020 // Initial data on fiscal year 2019/2020 public self-insured claims experience in the California workers’ compensation system show claim volume fell 6.4% compared with the prior year, but medical-only claims accounted...
Next Insurance Buys Data Firm Juniper Labs to Enhance Workers’ Compensation Offering
Dec 11 2020 // Digital small business insurer Next Insurance has closed its first acquisition, buying Juniper Labs, a Denver-based provider of data and underwriting technology. With the acquisition, Next said it will focus on innovation...
Florida Approves 6.6% Rate Decrease to Workers’ Comp Rates
Dec 9 2020 // Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier has issued a final order approving the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI)’s filing for a statewide overall decrease of 6.6% for Florida workers’...
Former Verizon N.Y. Employee Lied About Injuries, Collected $19K in Workers’ Comp
Dec 8 2020 // A former Verizon New York employee who allegedly lied to doctors about arm injuries to obtain more than $19,000 in workers’ compensation benefits has been arrested. This comes after surveillance videos showed her...
Expansion of Workers’ Compensation for COVID-19 in 6 States Created Narrow Benefit
Dec 8 2020 // While at least 17 states have passed laws or issued orders that expanded access to workers’ compensation benefits for employees who contract COVID-19, many of those directives are creating new exposure for only a...
California Workers’ Comp Attorney Arrested for $310K Fraud Scheme
Dec 4 2020 // Moses Luna, 73, of Newport Beach, Calif., was arrested this week on 20 felony counts of insurance fraud after allegedly billing 20 separate insurance companies for translation and interpreting services to collect over...
Transit Worker Can Be Compensated, Cannot Sue Employer for Assault Injuries
Dec 4 2020 // A District of Columbia appeals court held that a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) worker cannot sue his employer after requesting compensation under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act for an...
Workers’ Comp Loss Cost Decrease of 9.2% Approved in Tennessee
Dec 3 2020 // Workers’ compensation rates in Tennessee are expected to decrease next year after a 9.2% overall loss cost decrease was approved. Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance Commissioner Carter Lawrence approved...
California Roof Company Owner Arraigned In $4M Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme
Dec 2 2020 // Judy Hein, 71, of Oxnard, Calif., was arraigned on five felony counts of insurance fraud after allegedly underreporting payroll for her Simi Valley roofing business by over $4 million, resulting in more than a $2 million...
Workers’ Comp Insurance MGU Method Adapts Cutting Edge AI Solution to Streamline Underwriting
Dec 1 2020 // Nashville, TN, December 1, 2020 – Method has partnered with Gradient AI to incorporate state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) solutions into the underwriting process. Method utilizes...
No Increase in Average Washington Workers’ Comp in 2021
Nov 30 2020 // For the first time in two decades, Washington workers’ compensation rates have dropped or stayed steady for four years in a row. The state Department of Labor & Industries on Monday announced there will be no...
Nevada Supreme Court Rules Undocumented Injured Worker Can Get Benefits
Nov 25 2020 // The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that an undocumented worker is entitled to permanent disability. The court ruled on Nov. 23 that an undocumented worker suffering trauma due to a workplace accident is entitled to...
California OKs Workers’ Comp Advisory Rates, No Virus Adjustment for Now
Nov 25 2020 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has adopted and issued a revised average advisory pure premium rate, lowering the benchmark to $1.45 per $100 of payroll for workers’ compensation insurance, effective...
Minnesota Fraud Bureau: Insurance Fraud Referrals Up in 2019 but not for Agents
Nov 24 2020 // While Minnesota insurance regulators saw an uptick in the number of fraud case referrals during 2019, agent and broker fraud referrals were down significantly that year, the most recent for which insurance fraud statistics...
California Electrician Arraigned in $63K Workers’ Comp Scheme
Nov 24 2020 // Mark Redheffer, 48, of Fontana, Calif., was arraigned on felony counts of insurance fraud and attempted perjury after allegedly lying and concealing information in a workers’ compensation claim to receive more than...
