Workers Comp

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Wednesday that it has launched a local emphasis program aiming to reduce the higher rates of injuries among the more than 90,000 food production workers in Illinois and Ohio. The program, which began Oct. 3, started with an initial outreach focused on more than 1,400 manufacturing facilities in …

OSHA seeks to protect food processing workers in high-injury states Read More »

An annual study conducted by the National Academy of Social Insurance revealed workers compensation cost and benefits took a sharp downturn during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, while reporting at the state level uncovered a stark contrast in results.  Data compiled by the academy ran over a five-year period from 2016 to 2020 …

Pandemic’s first year sharply affected benefits, costs: Report Read More »

Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Inc. has agreed to pay $3.2 million after allegedly failing to follow prescription pricing procedures that prevent overcharges in the workers compensation insurance system, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced Monday. Court documents say that in some circumstances Express Scripts failed to apply various regulatory benchmarks — such as the Federal …

Express Scripts, Mass. settle over millions in comp overcharges Read More »

Changes to Oregon’s workers compensation law on who qualifies for death benefits are set to go into effect in 2023, according to an announcement issued Monday by the state Workers’ Compensation Division. In accordance with H.B. 4086, which was signed into law this year, the changes broadened the definition of a surviving relative to include …

Oregon death benefits to expand to other family members in 2023 Read More »

The Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division on Tuesday announced that premium assessment rates will remain unchanged in 2023. The WCD said its parent agency, the Department of Consumer and Business Services, determined that an assessment rate of 9.8% on earned premium is necessary for 2023. The annual assessment funds operations of the WCD, the Workers’ Compensation …

No change in workers comp premiums for Oregon employers Read More »

The New Jersey Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau on Saturday announced a 6.1% decrease in workers compensation insurance rates effective in 2023. The rating bureau filed for a decrease of 4.7% in rates and rating values, however, the state insurance commissioner revised the reductions based on “the latest financial and statistical data reported to the Rating …

New Jersey comp regulators up rate decrease for 2023 Read More »

A Florida appellate court overturned a denial of benefits for a paramedic suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, saying the trial judge erroneously concluded she was not exposed to a qualifying event on her last day of work and was not entitled to benefits pursuant to statutory changes enacted in October 2018. The appeals court said …

Appeals court revives paramedic’s PTSD claim Read More »

Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier on Monday approved an 8.4% decrease in workers compensation rates for 2023, in accordance with the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s filing. This is the sixth year of comp rate reductions for employers in the state, according to the Office of Insurance Regulation. Florida’s chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis said …

Florida regulators approve 8.4% decrease in comp rates for 2023 Read More »

Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready on Friday announced an 8.2% decrease in workers compensation loss costs for 2023. Loss costs are the average cost of lost wages and medical payments of workers injured per $100 of payroll or as a percentage of payroll. The new loss costs will go into effect for new and renewing …

Regulators approve 8.2% comp rate cut for Oklahoma businesses Read More »

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Friday released its revised guidelines for opioid prescribing with new recommendations for providers that emphasize greater communication with patients and that opioids should not be on the front line for managing pain. The last time the CDC released opioid guidelines was in 2016, of which triggered what many …

CDC releases new opioid prescribing guidelines Read More »