Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines

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

Minnesota Excavation Firm to Pay $380K OSHA Penalty, Increase Employee Safety Training

Apr 22 2021 // A Minnesota-based excavation company has agreed to increase employee training on trenching and excavation hazards and pay a $380,000 penalty in a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety...

California Workers’ Comp Committee Votes for 2.7% Higher Pure Premium Filing

Apr 21 2021 // The governing committee of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California has voted to authorize the WCIRB to submit a Sept. 1, 2021 pure premium rate filing to the California Insurance Commissioner...

Oklahoma Bill Would Create Workers’ Comp Assigned Risk Plan

Apr 21 2021 // A bill working its way through the Oklahoma Legislature would allow for the creation of an assigned risk plan providing workers’ compensation insurance.Senate Bill 524 would also repeal the CompSource Mutual...

Illinois Lighting Company Faces $85K in OSHA Penalties for Worker Injuries

Apr 21 2021 // Federal workplace safety officials have cited an Illinois lighting manufacturer with workplace safety violations and imposed $85,000 in penalties after an employee suffered severe facial burns.The Occupational Safety and...

California Welder Arraigned on Felony Workers’ Comp Fraud Charges

Apr 19 2021 // Ahmad Zaki Noori, 41, of Sacramento, Calif., was arraigned on two felony counts of workers’ compensation insurance fraud after allegedly misrepresenting symptoms following a work-related injury in order to receive...

Report: 44K-Plus Workers’ Comp COVID-19 Claims Filed in Texas by Mid-February

Apr 19 2021 // An updated report on workers’ compensation claims in Texas related to COVID-19 shows that insurance carriers had reported more than 44,000 COVID-19 claims and 200 fatalities to the state’s workers’...

Industry Watchers Weigh-in on ‘Concerning’ California Workers’ Comp Bills

Apr 19 2021 // A handful of workers’ compensation bills make their way through state Legislature every year that catch the attention of those watching the space — for better or worse.A few bills this year have a pair of...

California Siblings Arraigned in $1.4M Workers’ Comp Scheme

Apr 16 2021 // California farm labor company owners and siblings Elias Perez, 40, of Greenfield, and Alejandra Perez, 37, of Soledad, were arraigned on over 20 felony counts of insurance and tax fraud after allegedly underreporting...

N.J. Supreme Court Upholds Order to Reimburse Workers’ Comp Claimant for Marijuana

Apr 15 2021 // The New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a construction company to reimburse a workers’ compensation claimant for marijuana that was prescribed to relieve his back pain caused by a work injury.The high court...

California Business Owner Arraigned in $1M Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme

Apr 14 2021 // Marion Piggee, Jr., 68, of Los Angeles, Calif., was arraigned on seven counts of insurance fraud after an investigation by the California Department of Insurance revealed he was allegedly underreporting employee payroll by...

Oklahoma Workers’ Comp Commission Seeks Comments on Medical Fee Schedule

Apr 14 2021 // The Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission is now accepting comments on the 2020 Medical Fee Schedule.In 2020, the WCC, guided by its external consultant, FAIR Health, conducted an evaluation and update to the...

OSHA Prepares to Issue Emergency Regulations to Protect Workers from COVID-19

Apr 13 2021 // Mask mandates are coming down across the country, even as COVID cases are rising in most states. But the Biden administration appears poised to reinstate masking and other social distancing rules for recalcitrant governors...

Industry Watchers Weigh-in on ‘Concerning’ California Workers’ Comp Bills

Apr 8 2021 // A handful of workers’ compensation bills make their way through state Legislature every year that catch the attention of those watching the space – for better or worse.A few bills this year have a pair of industry...

Viewpoint: Psychedelic Drugs to Treat Pain in Workers’ Compensation Cases?

Apr 6 2021 // Medical science has moved forward by leaps and bounds in recent years, and yet for too many injured workers, their initial work-related injury and subsequent medical treatment is only the start of an all-too-familiar...

Texas OKs NCCI’s Workers’ Comp Loss Cost Filing Effective July 1

Apr 6 2021 // The National Council on Compensation Insurance’s (NCCI’s) advisory loss cost filing for Texas with an effective date of July 1, 2021, has been accepted by state insurance regulators.The Texas Department of...

Virginia Health Workers With COVID Get Workers’ Comp Unless They Refuse Vaccine

Apr 5 2021 // Virginia has passed a law making it easier for some healthcare workers who become ill with COVID-19 to collect medical expenses or lost wages.But there’s a catch: the law excludes healthcare workers who are offered a...

Report: Texas Work Comp Insurers See More than 44K COVID-19 Claims by Mid-February

Apr 1 2021 // An updated report on workers’ compensation claims in Texas related to COVID-19 shows that as of Feb, 14, 2021, insurance carriers reported more than 44,000 COVID-19 claims and 200 fatalities to the state’s...

What The Telecommuting Trend Could Mean for Florida Workers’ Comp Claims

Apr 1 2021 // As companies continue to adapt to COVID-19, it is evident that one of the long-lasting effects of the novel coronavirus will be the increased number of permanent work from home accommodations.According to a recent Gallup...

Final Defendants Sentenced in Massive Texas Work Comp/Healthcare Fraud Case

Mar 31 2021 // The remaining defendants in a North Texas medical center healthcare and workers’ compensation fraud scheme have been sentenced, the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation reportedIt’s the final chapter...

Texas Attorneys Face Organized Crime, Workers’ Comp Fraud Charges

Mar 30 2021 // Three attorneys and two law firms in Texas have been indicted on organized crime and other charges in relation to alleged workers’ compensation fraud.The indictments stem from Texas Division of Workers’...