workers’ compensation News

Slick Sidewalks, Protective Pets Among Injury Trends for Amazon Delivery Partners in Colorado

Coloradans like residents of other states have seen an increase in delivery vehicles as many households shifted to ordering more online amid the pandemice. Colorado workers’ compensation insurer Pinnacol Assurance analyzed its claims data to identify trends for this rapidly …

Migrant Farm Workers from Texas Allege Pesticide Exposure in Illinois

More than two dozen migrant workers from Texas allege they were sprayed with toxic pesticides while working in Illinois cornfields, according to a federal lawsuit. The workers, including teenagers, senior citizens and a pregnant woman, claim they were sprayed by …

Transit Worker Can Be Compensated, Cannot Sue Employer for Assault Injuries

A District of Columbia appeals court held that a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) worker cannot sue his employer after requesting compensation under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act for an assault he suffered on the job. A district court …

U.S. Employers Have Right to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccine. But Will They?

Private U.S. companies have the right under the law to require employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, but are unlikely to do so because of the risks of legal and cultural backlash, experts said. Companies are still in the early …

California Roof Company Owner Arraigned In $4M Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme

Judy Hein, 71, of Oxnard, Calif., was arraigned on five felony counts of insurance fraud after allegedly underreporting payroll for her Simi Valley roofing business by over $4 million, resulting in more than a $2 million loss to the State …

Nevada Supreme Court Rules Undocumented Injured Worker Can Get Benefits

The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that an undocumented worker is entitled to permanent disability. The court ruled on Nov. 23 that an undocumented worker suffering trauma due to a workplace accident is entitled to permanent total disability, despite a …

California OKs Workers’ Comp Advisory Rates, No Virus Adjustment for Now

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has adopted and issued a revised average advisory pure premium rate, lowering the benchmark to $1.45 per $100 of payroll for workers’ compensation insurance, effective Jan. 1, 2021. This marks the tenth consecutive reduction to …

Lawsuit: Nebraska Meatpacking Plant Did Not Protect Workers from Virus

A Nebraska meatpacking plant has been accused in a lawsuit of failing to take adequate precautions to protect workers from the coronavirus. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the federal lawsuit on Nov. 23 against Noah’s Ark Processors in Hastings, …

Chief Actuary Antonello to Be Next CEO of Employers Holdings

Small business workers’ compensation insurance specialist Employers Holdings Inc. has named Katherine H. Antonello as its president and chief executive officer. She will take over upon the retirement of Douglas D. Dirks on April 1, 2021. Dirks will be retiring …

Workers at North Dakota Company Go on Strike over COVID-19 Safety Concerns

About 70 drivers and warehouse workers at a Fargo, N.D., food distributor have gone on strike because they don’t believe the company is doing enough to protect them from exposure to COVID-19. Members of Teamsters Local 120 walked a picket …