Tag: Workers Comp

Oklahoma lawmakers are once again attempting to revise the state’s workers compensation law.

Legislators introduced one bill Monday and four on Tuesday that would make changes to the current comp statute.

One measure, Senate Bill 739, would dissolve the Workers’ Compensation Court of Existing Claims on July 1, 2027, or when the number of claims that arose before Feb. 1, 2014, the time of the court’s creation, is reduced to 5,000.

Senate Bill 31, known as the “Uniform Worker Classification Act,” is designed to better differentiate employees from independent contractors in comp.

Those classified as independent contractors would be required to sign written contracts with companies that would explicitly state, among other things, that the individual would not be provided with either workers comp benefits or unemployment compensation.

Senate Bill 411 relates to occupational disease and cumulative trauma, amending current law to state that the date of injury for cumulative trauma claims shall be the last date of injurious exposure prior to the filing date of the worker’s first notice of claim for compensation.

Another measure, Senate Bill 333, adds first responders to those who are exempt from a mental injury or illness compensability limitation that says mental injuries are not compensable unless caused by a physical injury to the employee.    

The bill also changes who administers the Volunteer Firefighter Group Insurance Pool from CompSource Mutual Insurance Company to the state Office of Management and Enterprise Services.  

Finally, Senate Bill 703 would modify requirements for payments from the state’s Multiple Injury Trust Fund, which is used for the costs of administering the state’s workers comp law.

Oklahoma lawmakers have previously attempted to overhaul the comp system in other ways.  

 

Non-emergency regulations designed to keep California workers safe from COVID-19 were approved Saturday and will be enforceable for the next two years.

California’s Department of Industrial Relations announced that the COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Regulations requiring employers to protect workers from coronavirus hazards went into effect after they were approved by the Office of Administrative Law.

The regulations will remain in effect through Feb. 3, 2025, with recordkeeping requirements to remain in effect until Feb. 3, 2026.

Employers are mandated to take additional active steps to protect workers from exposure to COVID-19, including maintaining injury and illness prevention programs that address COVID-19 as a workplace hazard and includes mitigation measures, and make COVID-19 testing available for free to employees regardless of vaccination status.

The regulations also force employers to review health department guidance to ensure proper indoor workplace ventilation regardless of company size.  

 

 

A bill that would permit first responders to file workers compensation claims for post-traumatic stress disorder was filed in the Kansas Senate on Monday.  

S.B. 165 would make amendments to current law, adding post-traumatic stress disorder to that which qualifies as an injury for first responders.

The bill defines a first responder as a firefighter, an enforcement officer, an emergency medical service provider, all “whether paid or serving as a duly authorized volunteer.”

The bill was sent to committee. 

 

A North Dakota bill aimed at enhancing workers compensation eligibility for firefighters and law enforcement officers was signed into law Monday by Gov. Doug Burgum.

The measure, House Bill 1279, revises current comp law by adding a new list of diseases and illnesses qualifying as presumptive work injuries for first responders, and it recognizes years of out-of-state service for firefighters with presumptive injuries.

Previously, firefighters must have worked in such a role in the state for at least five years to qualify for a presumptive comp injury. While the five-year duration remains in effect as a requirement, it will now recognize the years of firefighting service in other states.

The new law provides comp coverage for heart attacks, strokes, vascular rupture or similar cardiac events occurring within 48 hours after full-time firefighters or police officers engage in a strenuous, job-related activity.

The bill had passed both chambers unanimously. It contains a retroactive clause to cover the cases of a police officer and two firefighters who were previously denied coverage due to the length-of-service requirement, according to the governor’s office. 

 

A New York appellate court upheld the denial of a worker’s claim for injuries from a fall based on a lack of credibility, but it found his misconduct was not so egregious as to warrant a total loss of future benefits.

Alastair Kennedy worked for 3rd Track Constructors as an operating engineer. He suffered injuries October 2019 when he slipped and fell into a hole at a job site, according to Matter of Kennedy v. 3rd Track Constructors, filed Thursday in the state’s Appellate Division’s 3rd Department.

According to coworkers and photographs, Mr. Kennedy exaggerated the size of the hole, and the extent of his injuries, as he was able to get himself up after falling.

Mr. Kennedy, who underwent two surgeries in 2020, filed a claim for workers compensation benefits alleging injuries to his left shoulder, foot and ankle. The employer’s insurer accepted liability for the injuries to Kennedy’s left foot and ankle but contested the alleged neck and left shoulder injuries. The insurer also raised the possibility that Mr. Kennedy had violated state workers comp law that allows a worker to be barred from receiving future benefits if a worker makes false statements.

A workers compensation law judge found Mr. Kennedy was not a credible witness and rejected his claim of injury to his neck.

The Workers’ Compensation Board also disallowed the claims for left shoulder and neck injuries and upheld the loss of future benefits. The Appellate Division’s 3rd Department agreed, stating that Mr. Kennedy was inconsistent in reporting prior injuries and absent “a truthful medical history,” the medical opinions did not support Mr. Kennedy’s claims of injury.

The court went on to find Mr. Kennedy had also violated state law by exaggerating his injuries. However, the court said the total loss of future wage loss benefits is disproportionate to the offense, and so it reversed the penalty.

WorkCompCentral is a sister publication of Business Insurance. More stories here.

 

A Louisiana appellate court ruled that an employer was not liable for death benefits for the fatal shooting of an employee by her boyfriend at her workplace.

Fabeka Hayes worked as a manager of a Church’s Chicken restaurant in New Iberia. While she was in the process of closing the restaurant on May 12, 2020, Clarence Joseph Payton entered the establishment and fatally shot Ms. Hayes, who he had been dating, according to Hayes v. Church’s Chicken, filed in the Court of Appeal, 3rd Circuit on Feb. 1.

Ms. Hayes’ mother filed a claim for workers compensation benefits, which Church’s Chicken denied the claim, asserting Ms. Hayes’ death did not occur within the course and scope of her employment. A workers compensation judge found Ms. Hayes’ death did not arise out of her employment duties, as her murder was related to a domestic dispute with Mr. Payton over matters unrelated to her job.

Ms. Hayes’ mother appealed, arguing that Church’s Chicken did not meet its burden of proving that Ms. Hayes was engaged in a dispute. She insisted that her daughter had ended the relationship with Mr. Payton after having lived together for 12 years, and severed all ties with him days before the murder. The mother also contended that since surveillance of the event showed Ms. Hayes did not actively engage or fight, there was no dispute with Mr. Payton, who she testified had threatened or attempted to kill Ms. Hayes in the past.

Given this record, the Louisiana Court of Appeal said, the judge did not err in concluding that an ongoing domestic dispute with Mr. Payton “was in no way connected to (Ms. Hayes’) employment except for the fact that it occurred at her place of employment.”

WorkCompCentral is a sister publication of Business Insurance. More stories here.

 

Three construction companies in Florida were cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in connection with the death this past summer of a 31-year-old worker who died after falling during a roofing job. 

Contractor Mad Dog Design and Construction Company Inc. and subcontractors Big Hammer LLC and Forgotten Coast Crane Service Inc. were cited over the fatal Aug. 17, 2022, fall at a work site in Tallahassee, Florida.

The worker was attempting to upright roof trusses from a crane when he fell 12 feet to the ground and suffered critical injuries that ultimately proved fatal.

Tallahassee, Florida-based Mad Dog Design and Construction Co. Inc. was cited for allowing workers to erect and brace roof trusses while standing on the top plates of walls with inadequate fall protection. The company was given a serious violation citation and received proposed penalties of $6,250.

Archer, Florida-based Big Hammer Inc. received serious violations for failing to ensure workers had appropriate fall protection and exposing workers to fall, struck-by and crushed-by hazards. It is facing proposed penalties of $25,001.

Crawfordville, Florida-based Forgotten Coast Crane Service Inc. received a serious violation for failing to proof-test custom-made hooks used to hoist roof trusses and for failing to maintain proper communication with the crane operator. The company faces proposed penalties of $8,037.

In a separate case, Nanuet, New York-based ALJ Home Improvement Inc. was cited for four willful and four serious violations and faces proposed fines of $687,536 after an employee fatally fell during a roofing job in August 2022 in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey.

Inspectors had observed employees on a roof 18 feet above ground without required fall protection.

Another one of the company’s employees died in a similar manner in 2019, leading to previous citations.

All companies who were cited have 15 business days to contest the citations. 

 

 

 

CNA Financial Corp. on Monday reported 2022 fourth-quarter net income of $248 million, down 6.8% compared with the same quarter in 2021, as investment income fell and higher catastrophe losses hit the insurer’s underwriting results.

CNA reported property/casualty net written premium of $2.28 billion, up 5% from the prior year quarter.

The company’s combined ratio worsened to 93.7% from 92.9% in the prior year quarter.

Catastrophe losses totaled $76 million in the fourth quarter, primarily from Hurricane Ian and Winter Storm Elliot, said Dino Robusto, chairman and CEO of CNA, on a conference call with analysts.

The combined ratio was “consistent with last year,” and followed seven consecutive quarters of overall good combined ratios, Mr. Robusto said.

Property/casualty investment income for the quarter fell 5.2% to $290 million. Investment income for its life insurance business fell 15.7% to $204 million.

Mr. Robusto said CNA in the fourth quarter “continued to achieve a strong production performance,” and saw exposure increases in inflation-sensitive lines, such as workers compensation and general liability.

Workers comp rate decreases were “low single-digit and relatively stable for the last seven quarters,” Mr. Robusto said.

“We have steadily and methodically improved our results over the last six years,” he said.

Scott Lindquist, CNA’s chief financial officer said favorable development in workers comp was offset by less favorable conditions in general liability and commercial auto.

For the full year, CNA reported net income of $894 million, down 25.6%. Net written premium rose 9% to $8.66 billion and the combined ratio improved to 93.2% compared with 96.2% in 2021.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maryland lawmakers on Monday presented carryover legislation that would allow licensed certified social workers to diagnose injured workers with mental impairments.

H.B. 694, which was scheduled for a hearing March 1, would authorize a licensed certified social worker to “register as a rehabilitation practitioner and would authorize such a social worker to provide evaluation services for workers compensation claims related to permanent impairments involving a behavioral or mental disorder.”

Last year’s bill was described as “dead” on the day it was filed.

 

Illinois lawmakers are considering an emergency temporary regulation that would limit how cumulative trauma workers compensation claims would affect insurance rates and includes language that holds previous employers liable.

Introduced Friday, S.B. 1305 states that “(a)ny accidental injury, which results from repetitive or cumulative trauma and occurs within six months after the employee begins his or her employment shall not be considered by a worker’s comp insurer in setting the premium rate for the employer.”

The bill also states that “if an award is made for benefits in connection with repetitive or cumulative injury resulting from employment with more than one employer, the employer liable for award or its insurer is entitled to contributions or reimbursement from each of the employee’s prior employers which are subject to this act or their insurers for the prior employer’s pro rata share of responsibility as determined by the (Illinois Workers’ Compensation) Commission.”

The bill puts a two-year limit on post-employment comp claims. All the changes in S.B. 1305 would be repealed one year after the effective date.