Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Man Accused of Failing to Pay $193K in Workers’ Comp Premium
May 13 2021 // A Florida man has been arrested for workers’ compensation premium fraud and additional charges for allegedly concealing payroll information to avoid paying more than $193,000 in workers’ compensation premiums,...
Workers’ Compensation Numbers Indicate Strong Performance During 2020 Pandemic
May 12 2021 // Because of job losses and shrinking payrolls during the pandemic recession, the workers’ compensation industry’s net written premium dropped 10% to $42 billion in 2020. However, private insurers posted a...
Miami Construction Co. Owner Arrested in $88K Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme
May 11 2021 // A construction company owner was arrested in Florida this month for workers’ compensation premium fraud and grand theft for allegedly concealing payroll information to avoid paying more than $88,000 in workers’...
California Contractor Arrested in Nearly $1M Workers’ Comp Scheme
May 6 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...
No Delays Found in Medical Care for Workers’ Compensation Claimants During COVID
May 3 2021 // Despite potential obstacles posed by the coronavirus pandemic, injured workers experienced no meaningful delays in access to medical treatment under their employers’ workers’ compensation programs during the...
Returning to Work After COVID Workers’ Comp in a Post-COVID World
May 3 2021 // As the U.S. economy tumbled in March 2020 at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic millions of people were forced to leave their jobs. A year later, U.S. unemployment is at 6% in March 2021, down from 6.2% in February....
Milwaukee Area Water Technology Facility Faces $234K in OSHA Penalties
Apr 30 2021 // Federal workplace safety officials have cited a water technology company after an employee was injured when a guardrail loosened and he fell and struck his head on a support beam as he lowered himself into a nearly 30-foot...
Wisconsin Governor Signs Emergency Responder Workers’ Comp Bill
Apr 28 2021 // Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has signed a bipartisan bill that makes it easier for emergency responders suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to file workers’ compensation claims. Right now, police and...
New York Launches Injured Workers Legal Assistance Project to Assist with Comp Claims
Apr 26 2021 // The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board has launched its first-ever legal assistance project to help injured workers obtain medical treatment, the Injured Workers Legal Assistance Project (IWLAP). Now, injured...
No Delays Found in Medical Care for Workers’ Compensation Claimants During COVID
Apr 26 2021 // Despite potential obstacles posed by the coronavirus pandemic, injured workers experienced no meaningful delays in access to medical treatment under their employers’ workers’ compensation programs during the...
Cal/OSHA Cites Company $108K in Fatal Pressure Vessel Incident
Apr 23 2021 // Cal/OSHA has cited Sierra Pacific Industries $108,300 for workplace safety and health violations after one of its employees was fatally injured when a pipeline on an air compressor exploded. On September 17, an employee...
Minnesota Excavation Firm to Pay $380K OSHA Penalty, Increase Employee Safety Training
Apr 22 2021 // A Minnesota-based excavation company has agreed to increase employee training on trenching and excavation hazards and pay a $380,000 penalty in a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety...
California Workers’ Comp Committee Votes for 2.7% Higher Pure Premium Filing
Apr 21 2021 // The governing committee of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California has voted to authorize the WCIRB to submit a Sept. 1, 2021 pure premium rate filing to the California Insurance Commissioner...
Oklahoma Bill Would Create Workers’ Comp Assigned Risk Plan
Apr 21 2021 // A bill working its way through the Oklahoma Legislature would allow for the creation of an assigned risk plan providing workers’ compensation insurance. Senate Bill 524 would also repeal the CompSource Mutual...
Illinois Lighting Company Faces $85K in OSHA Penalties for Worker Injuries
Apr 21 2021 // Federal workplace safety officials have cited an Illinois lighting manufacturer with workplace safety violations and imposed $85,000 in penalties after an employee suffered severe facial burns. The Occupational Safety and...
California Welder Arraigned on Felony Workers’ Comp Fraud Charges
Apr 19 2021 // Ahmad Zaki Noori, 41, of Sacramento, Calif., was arraigned on two felony counts of workers’ compensation insurance fraud after allegedly misrepresenting symptoms following a work-related injury in order to receive...
Report: 44K-Plus Workers’ Comp COVID-19 Claims Filed in Texas by Mid-February
Apr 19 2021 // An updated report on workers’ compensation claims in Texas related to COVID-19 shows that insurance carriers had reported more than 44,000 COVID-19 claims and 200 fatalities to the state’s workers’...
Industry Watchers Weigh-in on ‘Concerning’ California Workers’ Comp Bills
Apr 19 2021 // A handful of workers’ compensation bills make their way through state Legislature every year that catch the attention of those watching the space — for better or worse. A few bills this year have a pair of...
California Siblings Arraigned in $1.4M Workers’ Comp Scheme
Apr 16 2021 // California farm labor company owners and siblings Elias Perez, 40, of Greenfield, and Alejandra Perez, 37, of Soledad, were arraigned on over 20 felony counts of insurance and tax fraud after allegedly underreporting...
N.J. Supreme Court Upholds Order to Reimburse Workers’ Comp Claimant for Marijuana
Apr 15 2021 // The New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a construction company to reimburse a workers’ compensation claimant for marijuana that was prescribed to relieve his back pain caused by a work injury. The high court...