Tag: Workers Comp

A New Jersey roofing contractor is facing fines of $584,333 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for allegedly failing to provide workers with adequate fall protections.

OSHA issued nine willful and three serious violation citations to Guelsin Lima, operating as Extreme Roofing and Siding LLC, after an agency inspection of an Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, residential construction job site in July found employees exposed to dangerous conditions.

Inspectors reported four roofers were exposed to a 30-foot fall hazard without proper fall protection and noted additional violations at the worksite during a subsequent visit the same week, OSHA said.

The contractor was cited for similar violations in a separate OSHA case in March and fined $247,309.

New York lawmakers have filed proposed legislation that would bar employers from retaliating against workers who file for workers compensation.

Senate Bill 1488, introduced Thursday, prohibits businesses from engaging in retaliation if workers file comp claims following work-related injuries.

Retaliation is specifically defined in the measure as threatening to contact or contacting U.S. immigration authorities over a worker’s suspected citizenship or immigration status as well as that of household members of workers.

If passed into law, employers found to be in violation face fines between $500 and $2,000.

The bill adds “retaliation” to language that already makes it illegal for employers to “discriminate” against employees for filing work comp claims.

The bill was sent to the Senate Labor Committee. 

 

(Reuters) — California is suing the United States’ leading insulin makers and pharmacy benefit managers, accusing them of using their market power to overcharge patients for the life-saving drug, the state’s attorney general announced on Thursday.

The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court in Los Angeles, targets Eli Lilly and Co., Novo Nordisk A/S and Sanofi SA, which together make more than 90% of the insulin drugs sold globally.

It also names the three largest pharmacy benefit managers — UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s Optum unit, CVS Health Corp.’s Caremark and Cigna Corp.’s Express Scripts. PBMs maintain the lists of drugs covered by health insurance plans and negotiate prices with manufacturers, and the top three account for about 80% of the market.

Insulin drugs are used to control blood sugar in patients with diabetes. About 8.4 million Americans depend on insulin, according to the American Diabetes Association.

The defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

 

 

The West Virginia legislature on Wednesday introduced three bills that would amend several presumptions for first responders.

H.B. 2025 would eliminate language in the law that permits compensable diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder to allow for all “licensed mental health providers” to diagnose PTSD, and not just “psychiatrists,” as is stated in current law.

Both H.B. 2128 and S.B. 79 would expand rebuttable cancer presumptions for firefighters to include bladder cancer, mesothelioma and testicular cancer.

All three bills were sent to committees.

 

 

Lawmakers in New York are considering legislation that would permit licensed social workers to aid in treating injured workers.

A.B. 852, introduced Wednesday, states that the treatment by a licensed clinical social worker for a compensable injury would be available upon the referral of an authorized physician.

The bill contains a number of provisions, including that the social worker authorized to provide services “shall not be authorized to perform independent medical examinations, except for independent medical examinations related to the need for licensed clinical social work services.”

The bill was referred to the Assembly Labor Committee.

 

A West Virginia bill introduced Wednesday would prevent workers determined to have been intoxicated during a workplace injury from collecting workers compensation.

House Bill 2190 would require blood tests be given to workers to determine whether the individual was intoxicated at the time of the workplace injury.

The bill states that workers who refuse to submit to blood tests are disqualified from workers comp benefits.

Any dependents of the workers would also forfeit their ability to collect comp benefits, the bill states.

Blood tests must be given within 12 hours of the occurrence of the injury and before seeing a physician or beginning any medical or substance treatment, since other medication could alter the blood test results. 

 

Lawmakers in Connecticut will consider amending its workers compensation law permitting post-traumatic stress disorder as a compensable injury to all workers.

S.B. 91, filed Thursday, would amend the state’s law on benefits for police officers, parole officers or firefighters suffering post-traumatic stress disorder after a “qualifying event,” which includes witnessing death and grave injuries, to include “all employees covered by workers compensation law.”

The bill was referred to the Committee on Labor and Public Employees.

 

 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed $174,351 in penalties against a Wisconsin malthouse after inspectors reportedly discovered unsafe working conditions.

Briess Industries of Chilton, which operates as Briess Malt & Ingredients Co., exposed workers to machine, respiratory protection, confined space and other hazards, OSHA stated.

Inspectors identified two repeated and 14 serious safety and health violations after an August visit to the company, which supplies malt barley to craft breweries, home brewers and other spirit and food production operations, according to OSHA.

One of the allegations is that the company exposed workers to amputation and other injuries by failing to properly implement and test procedures for controlling hazardous energy before servicing and maintenance.

The company faced similar allegations in 2019.

OSHA also said the company failed to train workers on confined space hazards and failed to offer adequate protection from roof fall hazards.

 

 

A bill filed in Montana would amend the state’s workers compensation laws relating to situations in which employees are injured during off-the-clock employer social events.  

House Bill 178, introduced last week, would update current law to state that an injury does not arise out of the course of employment when the employee is hurt while engaged in “unpaid” activities regardless of whether the employer pays for part of the activity or whether the activity occurs at a worksite.

Employees who are on paid time while participating in required employer-sponsored activities would still be eligible for workers comp.  

Social or recreational activity is defined as an activity undertaken by employees for “exercise, relaxation, pleasure, or voluntary or optional preparation related to the employment.”

The measure is scheduled for a hearing Friday before the House Business & Labor Committee.