Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Cost Savings in California Workers’ Comp Reform May Fall Short
Mar 7 2014 // California’s sweeping workers’ compensation reform is working for the most part, but some of the savings may not materialize thanks to pressure on the system, according to Dave Bellusci, executive vice...
Betts To Lead Insurance Council Of Texas
Mar 7 2014 // Albert Betts will become executive director of the Insurance Council of Texas on April 1. Betts, who had served as general counsel to ICT since 2009, will replace Rick Gentry. Gentry is retiring after 17 years as the...
SeaWorld Charges OSHA in Cahoots with ‘Blackfish’ Documentary Filmmaker
Mar 6 2014 // SeaWorld has filed a complaint alleging that an Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigator who probed a SeaWorld trainer’s death engaged in unethical conduct by fraternizing with makers of a...
Tim Cloney Promoted to Director at Investigation Solutions
Mar 4 2014 // San Diego, Calif. (03/04/14) – Investigation Solutions, Inc. (ISI), a National multi-line field adjusting and investigation company specializing in uncovering fraudulent insurance claims, has promoted Tim Cloney to...
Ex-Tennessee Senator Pleads Guilty to Theft in Workers’ Comp Case
Mar 3 2014 // Former Democratic Tennessee state Sen. Eric Stewart has pleaded guilty to a theft charge. Media reports said Stewart agreed last Thursday to the judicial diversion plea in Franklin County Circuit Court. Originally, he had...
Wage, Workers’ Comp Issues Halt Construction of UConn Athletic Facility
Feb 28 2014 // Two companies were ordered to stop work on the University of Connecticut’s new basketball training facility after a surprise inspection found workers were being paid in cash, allegedly to avoid paying taxes and...
Effort to Put House in Order Paying Off: Meadowbrook Insurance CEO
Feb 26 2014 // Meadowbrook Insurance Group, based in Southfield, Mich., has struggled with many challenges during the past couple of years but the “strong remedial measures” implemented to correct unacceptable results are...
CWCI and WCIRB: SB 863 Lowered Surgical Center Payments in California
Feb 26 2014 // Average facility fee payments to ambulatory surgery centers fell 26 percent per episode and 28 percent per procedure since fee schedule changes mandated by Senate Bill 863 were adopted last year. That’s according to...
Court to Hear Iowa Workers’ Comp Commissioner’s Defamation Lawsuit
Feb 26 2014 // The Iowa Supreme Court has set a date to hear arguments in a lawsuit filed by the state’s workers’ compensation commissioner against Gov. Terry Branstad. Justices say they’ll hear attorney arguments at 7...
Louisiana Company Fined $91K for Safety, Health Violations
Feb 25 2014 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Carol Callahan, doing business as Natural Advantage, for 19 serious safety and health violations at the Oakdale, La., facility....
Ohio Man Ordered to Repay $60K in Workers’ Comp Death Benefits
Feb 25 2014 // An Ohio man has been ordered to repay nearly $60,000 in workers’ compensation death benefits, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation reported. Adam Osterman pleaded guilty Feb. 13 in the Franklin County Court...
California DWC Names Appointments to Ethics Advisory Committee
Feb 25 2014 // Paige Levy and Joyce Cram were appointed to serve as members of California’s Workers’ Compensation Ethics Advisory Committee. The appointments were made by Division of Workers’ Compensation Acting...
California Senator Pleads Not Guilty In Workers’ Comp Fraud Case
Feb 25 2014 // State Sen. Ron Calderon pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges that he accepted $100,000 in bribes in return for pushing legislation, charges that could send him to federal prison for years. Calderon, a member of a...
OSHA Denies Plans to Increase Oversight of Small Farms
Feb 25 2014 // Facing pressure from Congress, the Obama administration has made clear it has no intention of increasing workplace regulations for the country’s smallest farms. In a letter to members of Congress dated Feb. 10, a...
Report: Texas Accounts 40% of U.S. Oil Field Deaths
Feb 24 2014 // Texas accounted for about 40 percent of the 663 workers the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said were killed nationwide in oil field-related industries between 2007 and 2012, according to a Houston Chronicle investigation...
Declarations
Feb 24 2014 // N.H. Workers’ Comp “We must come together to reform workers’ compensation so that our businesses can re-invest these dollars in growing their companies and creating new jobs.” —New Hampshire Gov....
Administrative Changes Proposed for Texas Workers’ Compensation System
Feb 24 2014 // Adoption of NCCI Manual Would Be Effective June 1 Texas Insurance Commissioner, Julia RathgeberTexas will be privatizing many functions in its workers’ compensation system if a proposal to adopt the National Council...
Southern California’s Construction Sector Continues to Heat
Feb 24 2014 // Southern California’s construction sector continues to gain momentum, making good on positive outlooks issued late last year, and agents and brokers who deal in this segment can’t be any happier – especially...
Mass. AG Opposes 7.7% Workers’ Comp Rate Hike
Feb 24 2014 // At a recent public hearing, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office expressed its opposition to the workers’ compensation average rate increase proposal and argued that the rate should be lowered...
California Legislator Indicted for Taking Bribes in Workers’ Comp Scheme
Feb 21 2014 // The Los Angeles Times is reporting that state Sen. Ron Calderon has been indicted in a corruption case and accused of taking about $100,000 in bribes from a hospital executive in Southern California who ran an alleged...
