Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Ohio Dollar General Operator to Pay $341K in OSHA Penalties
Nov 23 2022 // When federal workplace safety inspectors opened an investigation at a Dollar General store in Columbus, they discovered violations that were all-too-familiar and the kind that has led to more than $15 million in proposed...
Washington Contractor Faces Theft Charge over $127K in Workers’ Comp
Nov 23 2022 // A Clark County, Washington, man was charged with stealing $127,000 in workers’ compensation benefits for working at his own construction business while claiming he was too injured to work. Daniel Joseph Lesieur, 54,...
Oregon Report Shows State’s Workers’ Comp Rates Among Nation’s Lowest
Nov 22 2022 // Oregon’s workers’ compensation rates remain among the lowest in the nation, according to an analysis released by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services. The biennial study ranks all 50 states...
Missouri Dept. of Insurance Recommends 6.4% Decrease in Workers’ Comp Rates
Nov 22 2022 // The Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI) is recommending a 6.4 percent decrease in workers’ compensation insurance loss costs for 2023. This marks the seventh time in eight years that average...
Washington Contractor Faces Felony Theft Charge in Reported Workers’ Comp Scam
Nov 22 2022 // An Everett, Washington, man reportedly caught remodeling homes while claiming he was too injured to work has been charged with felony theft in a workers’ compensation fraud case. Terry Lee Dawson, 62, is accused of...
Cal. Father And Son Charged for $12M Workers’ Comp Fraud
Nov 21 2022 // Edgardo Cabrales Sr., 61, and his son, Edgar Cabrales Jr., 36, both of San Jose, California, were charged with five felony counts each of insurance fraud after a California Department of Insurance investigation found they...
California Workers’ Comp Benefits to Increase in 2023
Nov 17 2022 // California’s State Average Weekly Wage rose by more than 5% in the year ending March 31, 2022, which will result in an increase in California workers’ compensation temporary total disability and permanent total...
Psychosocial Barriers Not Uncommon in Workers’ Comp Recoveries
Nov 16 2022 // Workers returning to work after an injury can face various obstacles depending on the nature of their injury and the job, their available benefits and rehabilitation needs, even transportation challenges. Those who help...
Houston Business to Pay $300K For Workers’ Comp Insurance Fraud
Nov 15 2022 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) announced that a Travis County district court judge convicted Sehgal & Sons Enterprises (Ultra Business Services Inc.) of first-degree...
OSHA Cites Massachusetts Roofing Company for Fifth Time
Nov 15 2022 // A Quincy, Massachusetts roofing contractor exposed workers on the roofs of a garage and house in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood to potentially fatal falls from heights, federal workplace safety inspectors...
OSHA Proposes $145K Fine Against Caterpillar After Worker Death in Ohio
Nov 14 2022 // The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed fines of $145,027 against Caterpillar Inc. for not installing a guardrail or travel restraint at a foundry outside Peoria where a worker fell into molten...
2 Contractors Face $690K OSHA Fines Over Mezzanine Collapse, Asbestos at Boston Plant
Nov 14 2022 // Two Massachusetts contractors are facing a combined $690,000 in penalties for alleged safety errors that led to worker injuries during a demolition and asbestos abatement project at a former South Boston power plant. On...
California Workers’ Comp Bureau Study Shows Higher L.A. Claims Frequency
Nov 10 2022 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California released its 2022 WCIRB Geo Study, which underscores regional differences in claim characteristics across California. Key findings include: Even after...
New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Rates to Drop 6.1% for 2023
Nov 9 2022 // New Jersey workers’ compensation and employer liability insurance rates will be cut an average 6.1% beginning January 1, 2023. The reduction is more than the 4.7% decrease that industry’s rating bureau had...
4 Workers Injured by Gas Release at Los Angeles Airport
Nov 8 2022 // Four workers were injured, including one critically, by a release of carbon dioxide in a Los Angeles International Airport utility room, authorities said. One man was initially in grave condition but was upgraded to...
Florida Approves 8.4% Decrease in Workers’ Comp Rates Without Asking for More
Nov 8 2022 // The Florida insurance commissioner has approved a decrease in overall workers’ compensation rates for 2023, and he did not demand a sharper decrease from actuaries. The National Council on Compensation Insurance in...
Massachusetts AG Finds More Drug Overcharges in Workers’ Compensation
Nov 8 2022 // Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts, Inc. has agreed to pay $3.2 million after allegedly failing to follow prescription pricing procedures intended to keep costs down and prevent overcharges in the state’s...
Florida Workers’ Comp Agency Sets Workshop for Rules on Exempt Officers
Nov 7 2022 // The Florida Division of Workers Compensation will hold a workshop Nov. 16 on proposed changes to rules that govern when and how corporate officers can exempt themselves from workers’ compensation coverage. Current...
Oklahoma Work Comp Rates to Decrease 8.2% in 2023
Nov 7 2022 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready announced that businesses should see another rate decrease in workers’ compensation insurance beginning on January 1, 2023. The Oklahoma Insurance Department has approved...
More Violations: OSHA Fines Dollar General $2.7M for Workplace Safety Problems
Nov 3 2022 // A month after federal regulators hit Dollar General stores with $1.6 million in fines for safety violations, the retailer now faces an additional $2.7 million in penalties for similar problems in Alabama, Florida and...
