Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines

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

Report: 1Q 2024 California Workers’ Comp Written Premium 3% Lower Than Year Ago

Jul 31 2024 // Written premium for the first quarter of 2024 was 3% lower than the first quarter of 2023, while written premium in 2023 was slightly above 2022, according to the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of...

Outlooks Revised to Positive for Louisiana Workers’ Comp Insurer Stonetrust

Jul 31 2024 // AM Best revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a-” (Excellent) of Stonetrust Commercial Insurance...

Court Must Decide If Child Victims Act Revives Old Workers’ Compensation Claims

Jul 31 2024 // Did New York lawmakers intend the Child Victims Act (CVA) that revived old claims of sexual abuse to apply to claims by employees that would previously have been handled by the workers’ compensation system?It’s...

Minnesota Adds Stricter Guidelines for Rehabilitation Services in Work Comp Claims

Jul 30 2024 // Injured Minnesota employees who seek services from the Department of Labor and Industry’s Vocational Rehabilitation unit (VRU) while their disputed workers’ compensation claim goes through the litigation...

California Workers’ Comp Report Shows ‘Relatively Stable’ System Post-Pandemic

Jul 30 2024 // The California workers’ compensation system has been relatively stable in the post-pandemic era, as premium levels rose by 1% in 2023 and are forecast to increase modestly in 2024—while decreases in average insurer...

Painting Contractor Cited by OSHA After Worker Falls 80 Feet from Water Tower

Jul 26 2024 // A New Jersey contractor whose employee fell 80 feet to the bottom of a Bayville water tower has been cited by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for allegedly failing to provide required...

Wife of Ex-Texas Trucking Magnate Sentenced in $9M Work Comp Fraud Scheme

Jul 24 2024 // The wife of a former San Antonio trucking magnate was sentenced this month in a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme.Frances Hall, former co-owner of Bill Hall Jr. Trucking, was sentenced for her role in a scheme to avoid $9...

Former Postal Worker Sentenced to Probation for Workers’ Compensation Fraud

Jul 22 2024 // A former U.S. Postal Service employee in Delaware who defrauded taxpayers of almost $100,000 in workers’ compensation benefits has been sentenced to probation. Lakisha Hines was sentenced Thursday after pleading...

Minnesota Workers’ Comp System Stable Despite COVID-19 Impact

Jul 17 2024 // Workers’ compensation claim rates and benefits paid in Minnesota continue to be stable or follow their long-term downward trajectories, a new Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) report shows.The 2024 Minnesota...

Washington Adult Home Operator Facing Felony Charge in Alleged Workers’ Comp Scam

Jul 17 2024 // A Spokane, Washington woman who ran an adult family home while claiming she was too injured to work faces a felony charge in a $60,000 workers’ compensation fraud case.Serah Kamau, 52, reportedly operated her...

Amazon Worker Injured Due to Repetitive Tasks Loses Workers’ Compensation Bid

Jul 17 2024 // An Amazon distribution center worker in Virginia whose job entailed repetitive lifting and stowing of items all day and who suffered rotator cuff tears has been denied workers’ compensation benefits because she...

Navigating Hard-to-Place Workers’ Compensation: A Path Forward for High-Risk Businesses

Jul 17 2024 // This post is part of a series sponsored by Trucordia.Workers’ compensation insurance provides essential benefits to employees who face injuries or illnesses due to their jobs. This government-mandated program helps...

Georgia Governor Reappoints Bahl to Workers’ Comp Board

Jul 16 2024 // Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has reaapointed Neera Bahl to another term on the state Board of Workers’ Compensation. The three-member board, which includes Director Benjamin Vinson and Chairman Frank McKay, acts as the...

SC Supreme Court Urges Legislative Fix to Pre-existing Health Issue in Workers’ Comp

Jul 15 2024 // South Carolina lawmakers next year may be asked to revamp a workers’ compensation employment test that judges have relied on for more than 50 years, if the state Supreme Court has its way.The court last week said...

Inflation, the Economy and Workers’ Comp: A Positive Outlook

Jul 15 2024 // Inflation is cooling, employment growth is normalizing and the workers’ compensation outlook is good, according to a national economist specializing in workers’ compensation.The economy and the...

Impacts of Economic Changes on California Workers’ Comp

Jul 15 2024 // Projected changes to California workers’ comp claims frequency and severity due to industry mix of employment are negligible through 2026, while employment in most industries fully recovered from the initial pandemic...

Cal/OSHA Board Adopts Workplace Standard for Indoor Heat

Jul 15 2024 // A California workplace safety oversight board adopted a new standard for indoor workplaces to enact safety measures when the temperature reaches 87°F.The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board approved an indoor...

Massachusetts Orders 14.6% Cut in Workers’ Compensation Rates

Jul 15 2024 // Massachusetts businesses will see an average 14.6% reduction in workers’ compensation rates–a cut that is almost twice the size of what the insurance industry’s rating bureau proposed in its filing. The...

Excessive Heat Concerns in Workers’ Comp

Jul 15 2024 // With temperatures pushing above 90 degrees in parts of the Midwest and Northeast United States, many American workers are clocking in during what AccuWeather described as an “intense heat wave that is impacting more...

California Insurance Commissioner OKs Lower Workers’ Comp Benchmark Rate

Jul 12 2024 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara today issued a decreased pure premium rate for workers’ compensation insurance, lowering the annual benchmark rate from $1.41 to $1.38 per $100 of payroll—...