Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Workers’ Comp Subscription Rate in Texas Fell From 2016 to 2018
Mar 18 2019 // Between 2016 and 2018, the percentage of private sector employers participating in the workers’ compensation system in Texas fell from 78 percent to 72 percent, according to a report released in February by the state...
Before Heading to Prison, Attorney Apologizes for Major Workers’ Comp Fraud
Mar 12 2019 // Sean Enrique O’Keefe said he started out as a “humanistic attorney,” but he became a mercenary and then a criminal who netted $700,000 a year by sending San Diego workers’ compensation claimants to...
OSHA Scraps Obama Workplace Injury Reporting Rule; 6 States Sue
Mar 11 2019 // Citing a concern over potential public disclosure of sensitive worker information, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently eliminated a requirement that businesses with 250 or more employees...
New Hampshire High Court Rules Board Wrong to Deny Workers’ Comp for Medical Pot
Mar 8 2019 // The New Hampshire Supreme Court has ruled that a labor appeals board was wrong to determine that workers’ compensation insurance can’t reimburse an employee for the cost of medical marijuana. The court found...
Texas Canned Food Company Faces $194K in OSHA Penalties
Mar 6 2019 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Bruce Foods Corp. – a Mexican food manufacturer based in El Paso, Texas – after an employee suffered an amputation....
Maine’s The MEMIC Group Appoints Austerman to Senior Production Underwriter
Mar 5 2019 // Workers’ compensation specialist The MEMIC Group has appointed Beth Austerman to senior production underwriter to support continued growth in the Central and Western New York markets. Austerman has more than 14 years...
Pie Keeps Growing; Workers’ Comp Startup Raises $45 Million in Latest Round
Mar 5 2019 // Pie Insurance, an insurtech selling workers’ compensation coverage online to small businesses, has completed a $45 million Series B funding round. Participating investors included SVB Capital, Sirius Group,...
Supreme Court Rules Railroad’s Payments to Injured Workers for Lost Wages Are Taxable
Mar 4 2019 // The Supreme Court has ruled that payments to injured employees for lost wages by a railway company are taxable under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA). The opinion in BNSF Railway Co. vs. Loos by Justice Ruth Bader...
NSAIDs Overtake Opioids as Top Workers’ Comp Drug in California
Mar 4 2019 // Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, or NSAIDs, have supplanted opioids as the most common therapeutic drug group prescribed to injured workers in California, according to a new California Workers’ Compensation...
Participants in $200M California Workers’ Comp Scheme Sentenced
Mar 4 2019 // Several conspirators involved in a massive workers’ comp kickback scheme were ordered in late February to serve prison sentences and pay millions in financial penalties for their roles in the corrupt payment of...
Nevada OKs Workers’ Comp Loss-Cost and Assigned-Risk Rate Decreases
Mar 1 2019 // Nevada Insurance Commissioner Barbara D. Richardson approved a filing from the National Council on Compensation Insurance for an average decrease of 8.1 percent for Nevada workers’ compensation voluntary insurance...
Pennsylvania Salon to Pay $40K to Stylist Fired After Report of Health, Safety Hazards
Feb 28 2019 // After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has entered a consent judgment ordering...
Berkshire Hathaway Sale of Applied Underwriters Said Due to ‘Channel Conflict’
Feb 27 2019 // In a rare move, Berkshire Hathaway is selling one of its companies, leading workers’ compensation specialist Applied Underwriters, in order to avoid conflict with its other workers’ compensation...
FBI Looking for Victims of Alleged Workers’ Comp Scheme Run by California Firm
Feb 27 2019 // The FBI is seeking to identify businesses that may be victims of an alleged nationwide workers’ compensation insurance, health care insurance, and pension plan fraud scheme. The FBI is urging businesses that...
Pie Insurance Expands Online Workers’ Comp Coverage Into 4 Additional States
Feb 27 2019 // Pie Insurance has begun selling workers’ compensation insurance to small businesses in Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, and New Mexico. This expansion follows Pie’s launch in five states earlier this year and nine...
Former California Insurance Agent Allegedly Faked Workers’ Comp Insurance
Feb 25 2019 // Former California licensed insurance agent, Alan Amir Yousefi, 31, was charged with 10 felony counts including grand theft, insurance fraud and forgery, for allegedly stealing more than $105,000 in insurance premiums from...
Participants in $200M California Workers’ Comp Scheme Sentenced
Feb 25 2019 // Several conspirators involved in a massive workers’ comp kickback scheme have been ordered to serve prison sentences and pay millions in financial penalties for their roles in the corrupt payment of millions of...
Berkshire Hathaway in Talks to Sell Workers’ Compensation Unit Applied Underwriters
Feb 22 2019 // Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is in advanced discussions to sell its Applied Underwriters workers compensation unit to a consortium of insurance firms, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The...
Texas Woman Sentenced for $46K Workers’ Comp Fraud
Feb 20 2019 // A Texas woman owes just over $46,000 to the state’s largest workers’ compensation insurance carrier after being sentenced for workers’ compensation fraud in a Travis County district court. According to...
As Health Plan Deductibles Rise, Expect More Workers’ Compensation Claims
Feb 20 2019 // Are employees injured at work more likely to file under workers’ compensation instead of group health insurance when their group health plan has a higher deductible? The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI)...
