Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
OSHA Cites, Fines Texas Chemical Plant Owner $514.6K After Explosions, Fire
May 28 2020 // A chemical manufacturer has been cited by federal officials for workplace safety hazards and fined more than $500,000 after a fire and explosions at its Port Neches, Texas, plant in November 2019. The U.S. Department of...
Workers’ Compensation Insurtech Pie Raises $127 Million With Plan to Acquire Carriers
May 28 2020 // Workers’ compensation provider Pie Insurance announced the closing of $127 million in new financing and capital commitments. Gallatin Point Capital joined the insurtech’s current investors in the capital raise,...
Oklahoma Workers’ Comp Medical Fee Schedule Approved
May 27 2020 // The Oklahoma Legislature has adopted a proposed new Medical Fee Schedule, the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC) reported. The WCC had submitted in House Joint Resolution (HJR) 1028; it goes into effect...
South Dakota Bull Facility Faces $122.6K in Penalties After Employee Dies
May 27 2020 // A South Dakota bull stud facility faces penalties of more than $122,000 after being cited by federal officials following a worker fatality. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration...
California Workers’ Comp Bureau Lowers Mid-Range Estimate of COVID Costs by $10B
May 26 2020 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California published estimated costs of allowing state workers to receive benefits for COVID-19 claims without proving virus exposure at work, dropping a prior...
Workers’ Lawsuit Against McDonald’s Seeks Safety Measures, Not Damages
May 26 2020 // As U.S. businesses reopen, worried workers and their advocates are borrowing a legal strategy commonly used to shut down rowdy topless bars to try and force employers to strengthen protection against further spread of the...
Workers Worry Over Enforcement of Meatpacking Plant Safety Recommendations
May 22 2020 // Federal recommendations meant to keep meatpacking workers safe as they return to plants that were shuttered by the coronavirus have little enforcement muscle behind them, fueling anxiety that working conditions could put...
Retaliation Claim Against Delaware Law Firm Over Softball Injury Nixed
May 22 2020 // A judge has dismissed a lawsuit against a Delaware law firm filed by a paralegal who claims he was targeted for retaliation after being injured while playing on the law firm’s softball team and filing a...
SUNZ Insurance Solutions in Florida Names Leonard as President
May 22 2020 // Rick Leonard, former director of Sales and executive vice president with SUNZ Insurance Solutions, has been appointed president of the company. Rick Leonard Leonard has been with SUNZ, a national provider of workers’...
Service American, Tangram Insurance Partner on Workers’ Comp Program
May 21 2020 // Service American Indemnity Co. (SAIC), a national workers’ compensation carrier, is partnering with Tangram Insurance Services Inc. (Tangram), a managing general underwriter and program manager, to enhance...
OSHA Vows More Work Safety Inspections for Coronavirus as Businesses Reopen
May 21 2020 // The U.S. Labor Department will expand inspections of businesses to reduce job-site hazards related to the new coronavirus as employees begin returning to work across the country, although the policy falls short of demands...
Construction Company Owner Pleads Guilty After Lying During OSHA Investigation
May 20 2020 // After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the owner of a Somerset County, N.J., construction company has pleaded guilty to one count of felony...
North Carolina Revises Workers’ Comp Premium Rules Related to COVID-19
May 20 2020 // Two new rule revisions to the North Carolina Basic Manual for Workers Compensation and Employers Liability (NC Basic Manual) related to the COVID-19 pandemic have been approved by the North Carolina Department of...
Texas Storage Tank Facility Cited for Safety Hazards, Fined $234.5K
May 20 2020 // Alexander Tank Company – a manufacturer of steel storage tanks based in Luling, Texas – has been cited by federal regulators for repeat safety and health hazards and fined $234,528. The U.S. Occupational Safety and...
Report: Regulators Sat on Complaint as Virus Outbreak Grew at Iowa Plant
May 19 2020 // State safety regulators declined to inspect an Iowa pork plant after receiving a complaint alleging workers were exposed to the coronavirus in crowded conditions — a decision that critics said allowed a burgeoning...
OSHA Releases First Coronavirus Guidance for Nursing Homes
May 19 2020 // The U.S. Department of Labor last Thursday issued its first workplace guidance to nursing homes since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country and ravaged care facilities, saying residents, staff and visitors should keep 6...
Study: Sharp Drop in California Workers’ Comp Independent Medical Reviews
May 18 2020 // The number of Independent Medical Review determination letters, a process used to resolve California workers’ compensation medical disputes, fell sharply in prescription drug disputes by 11.3% from 2018 to 2019, with...
The Facts About Supposed ‘Illegal Acts’ Exclusions
May 18 2020 // Is the Insurance Policy Affected if the Business Opens Against a Governor’s Orders: The Facts About Supposed “Illegal Acts” Exclusions States have gone to war against some municipalities over COVID-19....
Citing 9/11 Victims Fund, Lawmakers Eye U.S. Compensation Pool For COVID-19 Workers
May 18 2020 // A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers last week unveiled a plan to compensate essential workers who fall sick or die from COVID-19. The lawmakers are modeling their Pandemic Heroes Compensation Act after the September...
Aon’s Thurman Joins Lockton Re in Atlanta to Lead New Workers’ Comp Practice
May 18 2020 // Lockton Re, the global reinsurance business of insurance broker Lockton, has hired Keith Thurman to its Lockton Re Atlanta office to lead the buildout of its’ Workers’ Compensation practice in the U.S., working...
