Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mass. Construction Company Owner Charged with Payroll, Workers’ Comp Fraud
Jun 15 2021 // The owner of a Revere, Massachusetts, construction company was sentenced on June 10, 2021, on charges of engaging in an under-the-table payroll fraud scheme that defrauded the government of more than $500,000 and insurance...
Workers’ Compensation Profit Picture Looks Good in Short Term: Fitch
Jun 15 2021 // With favorable results driven by recent reductions in claims frequency and further recognition of material reserve redundancies, workers’ compensation underwriting performance is expected to remain strong in 2021,...
New OSHA Covid-19 Standard Covers Healthcare Employees Only
Jun 14 2021 // The Department of Labor has promulgated an emergency temporary standard (ETS) designed to protect healthcare workers but did not extend the rule to other high-risk employment such as manufacturing, grocery or high-volume...
New Jersey USPS Mail Carrier Charged with Workers’ Compensation Fraud
Jun 10 2021 // A New Jersey U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier has been charged with making false statements to obtain federal workers’ compensation benefits. Aida Perez, of Roselle Park, New Jersey, has been charged by...
Uptick in Texas Workers’ Comp Claims Ends 20-Year Downward Trend
Jun 9 2021 // Despite the economic slowdown resulting from the COVID-19 business closures, the total number of workers’ compensation claims reported to the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation rose in 2020 by 34% compared...
Scottish American Acquires Ohio Work Comp Specialist, Fastcomp
Jun 8 2021 // Wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent, Scottish American, has acquired Fastcomp of Boston Heights, Ohio. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Fastcomp was created in 1998 by an experienced team of...
Former Washington Logger Charged in Nearly $300K Workers’ Comp Scam
Jun 7 2021 // A Cowlitz County, Wash., man stands accused of faking injuries to collect nearly $300,000 in workers’ compensation benefits. James Joseph Thomasson, 52, of Kalama, was arraigned in Thurston County Superior Court on...
Cal/OSHA Cites Foster Farms, Agencies for COVID-19 Violations
Jun 7 2021 // Cal/OSHA has cited Foster Poultry Farms Inc. in Livingston, Calif., and four staffing agencies for not protecting workers from COVID-19. Cal/OSHA opened its inspection after receiving notification that an employee had died...
Workers’ Comp Insurer SUNZ Expands into 13 Additional States
Jun 1 2021 // Florida-based SUNZ Insurance Co. is now licensed to write workers’ compensation policies in 13 additional states: Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah,...
CWCI: California Workers’ Comp Direct Written Premium Fell 11.4% in 2020
May 28 2021 // Total direct written premium in the California workers’ compensation system fell by 11.4% in 2020, dropping to an eight-year low driven by the ongoing decline in insurers’ average charged rates and relatively...
Wild Well Catches Fire in Louisiana; Workers Injured
May 27 2021 // At least seven people were injured when a wild well in a coastal Louisiana marsh caught fire while they were trying to control it, news outlets report. The owners said that the fire was out within two hours after it...
Former Washington Logger Charged in Nearly $300K Workers’ Comp Scam
May 25 2021 // A Cowlitz County, Wash., man stands accused of faking injuries to collect nearly $300,000 in workers’ compensation benefits. James Joseph Thomasson, 52, of Kalama, is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Thurston...
Cal/OSHA Cites Foster Farms, Staffing Agencies for COVID-19 Violations
May 24 2021 // Cal/OSHA has cited Foster Poultry Farms Inc. in Livingston, Calif., and four staffing agencies for not protecting workers from COVID-19. Cal/OSHA opened its inspection after receiving notification that an employee had died...
Florida Construction Co. Owner Arrested for Evading Payment of Workers’ Comp Premium
May 21 2021 // The owner of a Florida construction business has been arrested for allegedly concealing payroll information to avoid paying more than $718,000 in workers’ compensation premiums, according to a statement from the...
Outlooks Revised to Positive for Workers’ Comp Insurer Stonetrust
May 20 2021 // AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “bbb+” (Good) of Stonetrust Commercial Insurance Co....
California Contractor Arrested in Nearly $1M Workers’ Comp Scheme
May 17 2021 // Carolyn Plaza of Fresno, Calif., self-surrendered on May 6 after a warrant for her arrest was issued on six felony counts of insurance fraud. A complaint filed on April 16, alleges Plaza underreported more than $3 million...
California Flooring Business Owners Charged for $3.8M Workers’ Comp Fraud
May 14 2021 // Ryan Black, 45, formerly of Fair Oaks, Calif., and Curtis Davis, 53, of Penryn, were both charged this week with three felony counts of workers’ compensation fraud after allegedly underreporting payroll and employees...
New Oklahoma Workers’ Comp Fraud Law Goes in Effect Nov. 1
May 14 2021 // Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on May 7 signed into law legislation creating new penalties for workers’ compensation fraud. The legislative summary for House Bill 2236 states that anyone “failing to report to an...
Zywave Buys Workers’ Comp Software Firm Modgic
May 14 2021 // Insurance technology provider Zywave has acquired Modgic, an Oregon-based provider of workers’ compensation and experience modification analysis software for the commercial insurance industry. Financial terms were...
Report: California Workers’ Comp Written Premium Down in 2020
May 13 2021 // Written premium for 2020 was 13% below the previous year, and was at the lowest since 2012, a new report out on Thursday shows. The Workers’ Compensation Rating Bureau of California Quarterly Experience Report, which...
