Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines

All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Austin Drops Workers’ Comp Lawsuit Against Firefighter with Cancer

Sep 21 2018 // The city of Austin, Texas, has dropped a lawsuit challenging the determination by state workers’ compensation officials and an appeals panel that a firefighter diagnosed with cancer is eligible for workers’...

Washington Employers May See Big Drop in 2019 Workers’ Comp Rates

Sep 20 2018 // The price of workers’ compensation insurance in Washington could drop significantly in 2019. The Washington Department of Labor & Industries this week proposed a 5 percent decrease in the average premium...

OSHA Fines Contractors $86K Over Miami Bridge Collapse

Sep 20 2018 // Contractors that worked on the bridge near a Florida university that collapsed, killing six people, have been fined more than $86,000 for workplace violations. The Miami Herald reported Tuesday that the Occupational Safety...

Exploring the Jump in Mega Workers’ Compensation Claims

Sep 19 2018 // Mega workers’ comp claims – losses exceeding $10 million – jumped in 2016, according to a new report by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). It’s unclear if this is a one time...

Missouri Sawmill Cited for Safety Violations; Faces Nearly $200K in Penalties

Sep 19 2018 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed penalties of $199,183 to Missouri-based American Walnut Company LLC for two repeated and 14 serious safety violations....

Amputation Brings Citations Against Ohio Wood Pallet Maker

Sep 18 2018 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited pallet manufacturer Buckeye Diamond Logistics Inc. — which operates as BDL Supply — for lockout/tagout hazards after...

19% Workers’ Comp Rate Decrease Proposed for Tennessee

Sep 17 2018 // The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) has filed for a 19.1 percent decrease for workers’ compensation voluntary market loss costs in Tennessee – the largest recommended decrease since reforms to...

Florida Workers’ Comp Rates Going Down Again, But Future Challenges Remain

Sep 17 2018 // Florida businesses could see another significant rate decrease in workers’ compensation rates next year if Florida regulators approve the latest filing from the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). But...

Texas Workers’ Comp Claims Go Digital

Sep 17 2018 // Texas Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Cassie Brown has turned in the keys to a secure warehouse that the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) has used since 1992 to store injured employee claims. The...

Report on California’s Independent Medical Review Shows Continued Progress

Sep 17 2018 // An annual progress report from the California Department of Workers’ Compensation’s Independent Medical Review program shows it’s working as intended. IMR is a medical dispute resolution process that uses...

New Workers’ Comp Program for California’s Cannabis Industry

Sep 17 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones in early September announced a new workers’ compensation insurance program for California’s cannabis industry. The program was created by Atlas General Insurance...

California Cites Garment Contractors $570K, Some Lacked Workers’ Comp

Sep 17 2018 // The California Labor Commissioner’s Office has cited six Los Angeles area garment contractors $573,704 for labor law violations after uncovering a scheme where the contractors illegally operated under one license to...

Iowa Governor Scrutinized for Accepting Flight on Sedgwick Jet

Sep 14 2018 // Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds received approval from an ethics regulator to fly with her family to Iowa State’s bowl game free of charge on the jet of a state vendor, despite a law barring public officials and their...

Oregon SAIF Declares Dividends as Workers’ Comp Costs Decrease

Sep 14 2018 // The board of directors of the SAIF, the not-for-profit company providing workers’ comp insurance in Oregon, declared two dividends for customers: a $120 million primary dividend to be paid to SAIF’s...

Exclusive Remedy: The Scope of Protection in Illinois Workers’ Comp

Sep 13 2018 // Section 5(a) of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act provides the damages an employer must pay for work-related injuries. It specifies a worker injured in the line of duty cannot sue her employer or its other...

Oregon Workers’ Comp Costs to Drop Sixth-Straight Year

Sep 11 2018 // Oregon employers next year will pay an average of $1.12 per $100 of payroll for workers’ compensation insurance, down from $1.23 in 2018, under a proposal by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business...

Report on California’s Independent Medical Review Shows Continued Progress

Sep 10 2018 // An annual progress report from the California Department of Workers’ Compensation’s Independent Medical Review program shows it’s working as intended. IMR is a medical dispute resolution process that uses...

California Cites Garment Contractors $570K, Some Lacked Workers’ Comp

Sep 10 2018 // The California Labor Commissioner’s Office has cited six Los Angeles area garment contractors $573,704 for labor law violations after uncovering a scheme where the contractors illegally operated under one license to...

Labor Secretary: Cost Savings in California Workers’ Comp $1.3B Annually

Sep 6 2018 // Cost savings in the California worker’s compensation system from reforms made five years ago are far more massive than projected, according to David Lanier, secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development...

19% Workers’ Comp Rate Decrease Proposed for Tennessee

Sep 6 2018 // The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) has filed for a 19.1 percent decrease for workers’ compensation voluntary market loss costs in Tennessee – the largest recommended decrease since reforms to the...