Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
CDI Issues Directive on New Workers’ Comp Law Pertaining to Excluded Employees
Apr 3 2017 // The California Department of Insurance has notified the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of its concern that some insurers may be in violation of Assembly Bill 2883. The law, which went into effect on...
Pinnacol Issues $50M in Workers’ Comp Dividends to Colorado Employers
Apr 3 2017 // Colorado workers’ compensation insurer Pinnacol Assurance is distributing $50 million in dividend checks to its policyholders. More than 53,000 employers throughout the state — roughly 94.2 percent of the...
Kentucky Bill Reducing Black Lung Claim Assessments Headed to Governor
Apr 2 2017 // Kentucky lawmakers completed quick work Thursday evening on a proposal championed by the Senate’s top leader to reduce the beleaguered coal industry’s costs to cover claims by workers suffering from black lung...
Maryland’s Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance Reappoints 2 to Board
Mar 31 2017 // Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance Company, a Towson, Md.-based writer of workers’ compensation insurance, has reappointed Leonard Schuler Jr. as a member to the board of directors for a term of four years,...
Insurance Trade Group: Illinois Workers’ Comp Bill Unnecessary, ‘Burdensome’
Mar 30 2017 // A national trade association representing property/casualty insurers has come out against a proposed bill in Illinois that will create what group says are “burdensome and duplicative workers’ compensation...
Texas Raises Interest, Discount Rate for Workers’ Comp
Mar 29 2017 // The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation reports that the workers’ comp discount rate and interest rate for April 1 to June 30, 2017, will be 4.50 percent. The rate is computed by...
Shell Bill Filed in Arkansas Would Allow Alternate Workers’ Comp System
Mar 29 2017 // An Arkansas state senator has filed a bill that would create an alternate system for benefits to injured workers. As yet, SB 653 by Sen. David J. Sanders contains no specifics beyond a statement of purpose, which is...
Iowa Workers’ Comp Overhaul Bill Sent to Governor
Mar 29 2017 // The Iowa Senate has approved a bill to overhaul how workers are compensated for on-the-job injuries, sending the measure to Gov. Terry Branstad. The legislation, which passed with only Republican support, reduces benefits...
Alaska Workers’ Comp Reform Has Labor, Businesses Disagreeing
Mar 29 2017 // Alaska Gov. Bill Walker is sponsoring workers’ compensation legislation aimed at making it easier to determine whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor. Walker’s bill creates a new definition...
Montana Lawmakers Table Privatization of $1.6B Workers’ Comp Fund
Mar 27 2017 // Montana lawmakers have tabled a proposal seeking to dismantle and privatize the state’s massive workers’ compensation system, saying the matter is too daunting to take up in the waning days of the legislative...
Grandstaff Joins Florida-Based SUNZ as CFO, Executive Vice President
Mar 27 2017 // SUNZ Holdings of Bradenton, Fla., has appointed Michael W. Grandstaff to the position of chief financial officer and executive vice president of SUNZ Holdings, and chief financial officer of SUNZ Insurance Co. Grandstaff...
Amended Iowa Workers’ Comp Overhaul Advanced to Senate
Mar 24 2017 // Republicans in the Iowa House passed a bill to overhaul how workers in the state are compensated for on-the-job injuries, though they backed off some key proposals amid internal concern over the extent of the changes. The...
Congress Nullifies Obama Workplace Injury Reporting Rule
Mar 24 2017 // The U.S. Senate (50-48) joined the House (231-191) in passing a resolution blocking a federal workplace injury and accident reporting rule put in place by the Obama Administration last December. The Department of Labor...
BLS Report Finds New Jersey Fatal Work Injuries Increased in 2015
Mar 23 2017 // The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported in March that fatal work injuries totaled 97 in New Jersey for the year 2015, a 10 percent increase from the previous year, according to Chief Regional Economist Martin...
Chubb Introduces Online Workers’ Comp Policy System for Small Business Agents
Mar 23 2017 // Chubb has introduced a new online system for independent agents that will quote and issue a comprehensive workers’ compensation policy for small businesses. Chubb’s workers’ compensation policy for small...
California Workers’ Comp Report Looks at Spinal Fusion Claims
Mar 22 2017 // A study on the use of spinal fusion surgeries in California workers’ compensation shows that in 60 percent of spinal fusion claims the initial report of injury was for a sprain or strain, a majority of the fusions...
Pinnacol Issues $50M in Workers’ Comp Dividends to Colorado Employers
Mar 22 2017 // Colorado workers’ compensation insurer Pinnacol Assurance is distributing $50 million in dividend checks this month to its policyholders. More than 53,000 employers throughout the state — roughly 94.2 percent of...
BSA in Tennessee Promotes Wall To Medical Only-Claims Rep
Mar 22 2017 // Brentwood Services Administrators Inc. (BSA), headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., promoted Courtney Wall in February 2017 to the position of medical only-claims representative in the Brentwood office, according to Jeff...
California Workers Comp Medical Review Volume Hit a Record in 2016
Mar 21 2017 // The California workers’ compensation independent medical review process used to resolve medical disputes found that in 2016 IMR physicians once again upheld about 90 percent of utilization review physician’s...
CDI Issues Directive on New Workers’ Comp Law Pertaining to Excluded Employees
Mar 21 2017 // The California Department of Insurance has notified the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of its concern that some insurers may be in violation of Assembly Bill 2883. This law, which went into effect on...
