Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines

All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.

California Workers’ Comp Committee Votes

Aug 19 2019 // for Drop in 2020 Pure Premium Filing The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California’s governing committee voted earlier this month to authorize the WCIRB to submit a Jan. 1, 2020, advisory pure...

OSHA Fines Contractors in Death of Delaware Port Worker

Aug 15 2019 // Federal safety regulators have cited two contractors following the death of a worker at Delaware’s port of Wilmington earlier this year. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says Enerfab Process...

Pennsylvania Makes Changes to Reduce Chances of Workers’ Comp Rate Filing Errors

Aug 14 2019 // Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman and Labor & Industry Secretary Jerry Oleksiak announced agreements with two insurers and the Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau (PCRB) to protect Pennsylvania...

New Louisiana Injured Worker Compensation Weekly Amounts Effective Sept. 1

Aug 13 2019 // The Louisiana Workforce Commission’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration has published the new weekly minimum and maximum compensation rates for injured workers that are effective Sept. 1. The new...

Empire Underwriters Expands Workers Comp Coverage to Various Trucking Classes

Aug 12 2019 // Empire Underwriters, a leading national insurance wholesaler, excess and surplus lines facility and program manager has released a new workers comp program for truckers, tow truck operators, and delivery companies backed...

2 Workers Injured in Gas Explosion at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Stadium

Aug 12 2019 // Authorities say two workers were injured in a gas explosion at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ home stadium. The Tampa Bay Times reports that the workers at Raymond James Stadium were taken to a local hospital Thursday...

Missouri Barrel Maker Cited for Multiple Workplace Hazards; Fined $413.3K

Aug 9 2019 // Federal workplace safety regulators have proposed more than $413,000 in penalties after citing a Missouri-based barrel maker for multiple workplace safety hazards. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety...

How AI Advances ‘No-Touch’ Resolution of Workers Compensation Claims: Opinion

Aug 8 2019 // Many human hours are needed to sort, analyze and process workers compensation claims—the vast majority of which are low in value. The U.S. workers comp insurance market is forecast to earn revenues of $55 billion in...

California Insurance Commissioner’s Applied Underwriters Decision Challenged over Campaign Contributions

Aug 7 2019 // A pair of companies has filed to overturn decisions by California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara in cases involving workers’ comp provider Applied Underwriters, alleging the decisions by Lara were swayed by...

California Workers’ Comp Committee Votes for Drop in 2020 Pure Premium Filing

Aug 7 2019 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California’s governing committee voted on Wednesday to authorize the WCIRB to submit a Jan. 1, 2020 advisory pure premium rate filing to the California...

Connecticut Worker Charged with Workers’ Compensation Fraud, Larceny

Aug 6 2019 // A Connecticut Department of Developmental Services (DDS) employee was has been arrested and charged with fraudulently collecting more than $4,000 in workers’ compensation benefits. Elizabeth Torres, age 58, of...

Starr Insurance Companies Extends Defense Base Act Coverage to Small Contractors

Aug 2 2019 // Starr Wright Insurance Agency, Inc. (Starr Wright USA), a division of Starr Insurance Companies, has a launched a distribution channel for Starr Insurance Companies’ Defense Base Act insurance coverage, specifically...

Fewer Injured Workers Receiving Opioids Under Workers’ Compensation But States Vary

Aug 2 2019 // Fewer injured workers are receiving opioids to treat pain than in previous years, as medical providers are turning more to non-opioid medications and physical therapies. A new study of injured worker claims from 27 states...

Report: Written Worker’s Comp Premium in California to Fall by $1B in 2019

Jul 31 2019 // Expect workers’ compensation insurance rates in California to continue to fall, with total written premium expected to drop by $1 billion or more for 2019 despite the positive impacts of continued economic growth, a...

Company Faces $724K in Federal Fines for Hazards at Ohio Plant

Jul 31 2019 // An automotive glass manufacturer has been cited by federal workplace safety officials for exposing employees to multiple safety and health hazards at its production plant in Moraine, Ohio. Fuyao Glass America Inc. faces...

California Self-Insurers Board Greenlights Workers’ Comp Alternative Security Program

Jul 30 2019 // The board of the California Self-Insurers’ Security Fund has approved the 2019/20 Alternative Security Program. The ASP provides a financial backstop to replace security deposits required to collateralize...

OSHA Fines Virginia Shipbuilder More Than $13K for Safety Violation

Jul 26 2019 // The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined Newport News Shipbuilding more than $13,000 for a safety violation after investigating the death of an employee. However, the violation was unrelated to the...

Louisiana Workers’ Comp Carrier, LWCC, Adds Irby, Promotes Sanders

Jul 25 2019 // Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based workers’ compensation provider, LWCC, has hired Seth Irby as chief marketing and customer experience officer, and promoted Gary Sanders to vice president. Irby brings to LWCC a variety of...

U.S. Appeals Court: Ohio Work Comp Solicitation Ban at Odds with Free Speech Law

Jul 25 2019 // In siding with a law firm in a case involving access to workers’ compensation claimant information and the use of that information for solicitation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has declared...

Pets Account for Nearly 400 Workers’ Comp Claims A Year in Oregon

Jul 25 2019 // Slip and falls, flying tools, poor posture. The workplace can be dangerous, and now you can add pets to the risks that Oregon workers face. Dogs and cats have accounted for more than 1,900 claims since 2014 received by...