Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Montana Bill Would Send Workers’ Comp Out for Bid
Feb 3 2011 // A Montana senator believes the state might save money if part of the workers’ compensation program were administered by a private insurance company. Sen. Jim Keane urged members of the Senate Business, Labor, and...
Csiszar, Ex-Regulator, Named to Board of Florida’s Patriot National
Feb 3 2011 // Ernest N. Csiszar, former South Carolina insurance commissioner and head of a national insurers organization, has been named to the board of directors of Patriot National Insurance Group and Guarantee Insurance Co. Csiszar...
Illinois Changes Procedure for Workers’ Comp Pro Se Settlement Contracts
Feb 1 2011 // The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission announced that as of March 1, 2011, no case settlement contracts will be approved until the case has been assigned a case number and setting. The IWCC said that in the...
Liens Stress California Workers’ Comp System
Feb 1 2011 // Liens are “choking” California’s workers’ compensation system, with employers and insurers spending roughly $200 million per year on loss adjustment expense to handle medical liens claims, according...
Wisconsin Workers’ Comp Medical Costs Per Claim Increasing
Jan 31 2011 // The increased cost and more frequent use of medical care provided to injured workers in Wisconsin drove up the average medical payments per workers’ compensation claim in recent years, according to a new study by the...
Utah Bill Targets Construction Companies That Skirt Workers’ Comp
Jan 31 2011 // Utah Senate Bill 35 is going after construction companies, requiring them to pay workers’ compensation and contribute to unemployment insurance and withholding taxes as long as their employees own less than 20...
Washington Approves 12% Workers’ Comp Rate Hike
Jan 31 2011 // Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has approved an increase to the state’s workers’ compensation premium rates by an average 12 percent or 6.5 cents per hour for 2011. The new...
Massachusetts Attorney General Wants Tougher Workers’ Comp Penalties
Jan 31 2011 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley wants more severe criminal penalties for businesses that go without workers’ compensation insurance for their employees. A bill filed earlier this month by...
Florida Businessman Charged with Workers’ Compensation Fraud
Jan 31 2011 // Florida officials have charged a Duval County man with allegedly creating a fake company and fake name as part of a workers’ compensation fraud scheme. Florida CFO Jeff Atwater announced the arrest of David...
Liberty Northwest Develops Safety Program for Montana Employers
Jan 28 2011 // Liberty Northwest, a Liberty Mutual Agency Corp. regional company, has announced an overall retro rating adjustment of nearly 28 percent in workers’ compensation insurance premium adjustments and premium surcharge...
Cause of Deadly West Virginia Factory Blast Still Uncertain
Jan 27 2011 // The U.S. Chemical Safety Board believes either metal shavings or dust were the source of an explosion that killed three men in a West Virginia factory, but the investigator in charge said his team has yet to determine...
OSHA Fines New Hampshire Paper Company in Worker Death
Jan 27 2011 // A federal agency is fining a New Hampshire paper company for intentional safety violations in the death of a 34-year-old worker who was pulled through a paper rolling machine. The Occupational Safety and Health...
Hair Named Chief Risk Operator for Utah Workers Compensation Fund
Jan 26 2011 // Dan Hair, Utah Workers Compensation Fund senior vice president and chief underwriting and safety officer, has been promoted to chief risk operator. He will be responsible for developing and implementing an enterprise risk...
Iowa Employment Agency Charged with Workers’ Compensation Premium Fraud
Jan 26 2011 // The owner of a Des Moines employment agency has been indicted on federal fraud charges, accused of scheming to defraud insurance companies out of workers’ compensation premiums. Dan Sethi, of Ankeny, owns DES...
Tennessee Firms Opting Out of Workers’ Compensation Must Register
Jan 25 2011 // A new Tennessee law is requiring all construction firm owners to register with the state if they choose to opt out of the state’s workers’ compensation system. The new law is designed to protect general...
Montana Workers’ Comp Reform Bill on Hold
Jan 25 2011 // A Montana workers’ compensation reform bill was put on hold Jan. 21, 2010, after its sponsor told a state House committee it would have to be heavily amended and suggested going with a “clean” version of...
Some in Illinois GOP Want to Link Work Comp Reform, State Borrowing
Jan 25 2011 // Illinois lawmakers left two big pieces of unfinished business when they went home after voting to raise income taxes. One piece would make Illinois a less expensive place to do business, and the other would get billions of...
People
Jan 24 2011 // Incoming Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak has appointed 10 members of his staff to lead the Oklahoma Insurance Department: Mike Rhoads is deputy commissioner of Health Insurance; Denise Engle is deputy...
Return-to-Work Process Helps Employees Return to Normalcy Faster
Jan 24 2011 // Unfortunately, many companies have workplace accidents at some point that may require an employee to be away from work whether for a few days or a few months. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor...
Missouri Business Leaders Urge Tort, Workers’ Comp, Employment Law Reforms
Jan 24 2011 // Business leaders in Missouri are asking state lawmakers for reforms that they say will help protect and create jobs. Among the priorities, which proponents are calling “Fix the Six,” are bottom-line issues for...
