coronavirus workers News

Meat Packing Plant Owners Defend Operations During Pandemic

As part of an investigation into the spread of coronavirus at U.S. meat plants, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker released responses from major producers that defended their operations during the pandemic. The four biggest meatpackers — Tyson Foods …

Workers’ Compensation Rates Won’t Be Adjusted for Coronavirus Experience This Year

The workers’ compensation line is unlikely to generate a profit this year and may not recover in 2021, an insurance industry economist said during a webcast Thursday. Steven N. Weisbart, senior vice president and chief economist for the Insurance Information …

Liberty Mutual Loses Bid to Charge Employer for Claims Paid from Exempt Workers

A workers’ compensation insurer cannot charge an employer an extra $1.7 million in premiums for the risk presented by employees who were exempt from coverage under Iowa’s workers’ compensation law, a federal appellate court ruled Monday. The 8th Circuit Court …

Workers Turn Into Sleuths to Track Sicknesses Where Employers Keep Covid Data Secret

Jana Jumpp spends eight hours a day updating a spreadsheet — not for work, but a recent hobby: figuring out how many of Amazon’s 400,000 warehouse workers have fallen sick with the coronavirus. Amazon won’t give a number, so Jumpp …

Robots Gain as Pandemic Lockdowns, Safety Issues Cause Factories to Automate

While a resurgence in coronavirus cases in Texas has brought many businesses to a screeching halt, eight robots have kept All Axis Machining’s metal fabrication facility in Dallas humming. The small, nimble robots perform multiple jobs, such as machine-tending, sanding, …

Risk of Airborne Coronavirus Adds to Challenge of Making Workspaces Safe

U.S. companies are raising new questions about how they can make workplaces safe after the world’s top public health agency acknowledged the risk that tiny airborne droplets of the novel coronavirus may contribute to its spread, industry healthcare consultants said. …

Next Showdown in Congress: Protecting Workers vs. Protecting Employers in Pandemic

Congressional leaders are squaring off over the next pandemic relief bill in a debate over whom Congress should step up to protect: front-line workers seeking more safeguards from the ravages of COVID-19 or beleaguered employers seeking relief from lawsuits. Democrats …

P/C Insurance Survey: 55% Back Worker Presumption; 54% See Interrupt Cases Failing

A slight majority (54%) of property /casualty insurance industry professionals think insurers will succeed in defeating legal and political attempts to force them to pay business interruption claims from the coronavirus pandemic. A slight majority (55%) also believe that that …

Essential Workers With COVID-19 Face Workers’ Compensation Uncertainty

Lauded for their service and hailed as everyday heroes, essential workers who get the coronavirus on the job have no guarantee in most states they’ll qualify for workers’ compensation to cover lost wages and medical care. Fewer than one-third of …

101 Ways Coronavirus Crisis Has Changed P/C Insurance Pros’ View of Their Job. Or Not.

Has the coronavirus experience changed how property/casualty insurance professionals view their jobs? Yes and no. The biggest change is that many in the industry learned they can do their job from home, and most, although not all, like that. That’s …