Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Vermont Governor Announces Decreases in Workers’ Comp Rates
Feb 14 2020 // Vermont Governor Phil Scott announced that rates for workers’ compensation premiums will drop by about 11% when new rates take effect in April. Scott’s administration said the reductions are part of a trend in...
N.H. Stone Products Manufacturer Cited for Hazards Following Employee Fatality
Feb 13 2020 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Quartz and Stone Creations of New Hampshire LLC for crushing and other hazards following an employee fatality on July 19,...
Penn. Company Fined More Than $280K for Exposing Employees to Safety Hazards
Feb 12 2020 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Cleveland Brothers Inc. – doing business as CB HYMAC – for exposing workers to hexavalent chromium fumes and other...
Pennsylvania’s Workpartners Maintains Excellent Rating from A.M. Best
Feb 11 2020 // Workpartners, which is part of UPMC Insurance Services, has retained its financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) with a stable outlook from A.M. Best. The A- (Excellent) rating with a stable outlook applies to UPMC...
Delaware Companies Save More Than $4M from Reduced Workers’ Comp Rates
Feb 10 2020 // The Delaware Department of Insurance has analyzed new filings from the state’s top writers of workers’ compensation insurance after announcing the third consecutive year of decreased rates in November. The top...
Workers’ Compensation Is Doing Well. Is It Time to Worry?
Feb 10 2020 // Although workers’ compensation results remain strong — and the line continues to outperform all other commercial insurance lines — worries about continued soft pricing and loss reserve levels for...
Florida Business Owner Accused of Evading $200K in Workers’ Comp Premium
Feb 7 2020 // A Florida business owner is accused of evading paying nearly $200,000 in workers’ compensation insurance premiums over the course of a year, according to a statement from the Florida Department of Financial...
Washington Roofer Ordered to Repay $25K in Workers’ Comp Scam
Feb 5 2020 // A Washington man caught doing a roofing job while claiming he was too disabled to work must repay the state more than $25,000. José Guadalupe Sanchez, 50, pleaded guilty in Pierce County Superior Court to third-degree...
Berkley CEO Warns Against Overreaction to Workers’ Comp Rate Declines
Feb 4 2020 // While the market is hardening and rates are increasing for nearly every commercial insurance line, workers’ compensation remains stubbornly soft. That reality is something that W.R. Berkley’s CEO flagged...
2nd Worker Injured in Texas Oil Well Blowout Dies
Feb 3 2020 // A second worker has died of injuries from a Central Texas oil well blowout, the company said. Chesapeake Energy spokesman Gordon Pennoyer said the worker died Thursday evening at a hospital. Another worker was killed in...
Michigan School District to Reinstate Employee, Pay $102.9K in Whistleblower Case
Feb 3 2020 // A school district in Michigan has been ordered to reinstate one employee and pay a total of $102,905.78 in back wages, damages and other compensation in a whistleblower case. The U.S. Department of Labor’s...
Texas Security Company Convicted of $51K Workers’ Compensation Fraud
Jan 29 2020 // HHDP Security, a Houston-based security company, has been convicted of premium fraud and ordered by a Travis County District Court judge to pay $51,131 in restitution, the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of...
2 Arrested in $20M Workers’ Comp Fraud And Kickback Scheme
Jan 28 2020 // A pair of California men have been charged with multiple felonies in a reported $20 million kickback scheme involving worker’s compensation. Bradley Dean Groscost, 59, of Westminster, and Felix Koltsov, 57, of...
2 Construction Workers Injured at University of Alabama Stadium
Jan 28 2020 // Two construction workers, participating in the renovation of Bryant-Denny Stadium at the University of Alabama, were injured Saturday when beams fell on a piece of equipment they were operating. Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue...
Workers’ Compensation Is Doing Well. Is It Time to Worry?
Jan 24 2020 // Although workers’ compensation results remain strong—and the line continues to outperform all other commercial insurance lines—worries about continued soft pricing and loss reserve levels for workers’...
Wisconsin Manufacturer Fined $171K for Exposing Workers to Lead, Other Hazards
Jan 24 2020 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Milwaukee Valve Company Inc. – based in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin – for exposing employees to lead and copper dust at...
Mace Appointed Deputy Commissioner of Legal Services at Texas DWC
Jan 22 2020 // Kara Mace has been tapped as deputy commissioner for the newly created Legal Services program at the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation. Legal Services will handle rule development, open...
Texas Mutual: Massachusetts Firm Pleads Guilty to Workers’ Comp Fraud
Jan 21 2020 // A Massachusetts company has pleaded guilty in a Travis County, Texas, district court to workers’ compensation fraud, according to Texas Mutual Insurance Co. Texas Mutual says EME International Inc. (EME) of...
Workers’ Comp Profits at Risk from Growing Competition, Lower Rates: A.M. Best
Jan 13 2020 // Workers’ compensation carriers’ ability to retain profitable accounts and maintain market share could be challenged due to declining rates and growing competition in the U.S., according to an A.M. Best...
Fastcomp Creates ‘Workers’ Comp Insurance Exchange’ for Independent Agents
Jan 10 2020 // Fastcomp, a workers’ compensation technology platform based in Boston Heights, Ohio, has introduced a proprietary Multiple Quote Automation engine for monoline workers’ comp with independent agents in mind. The...