Oklahoma Supreme Court Changes Stance on New Workers Comp Legislation, Supports the Bill After the Oklahoma legislature made changes to the state’s workers comp laws in May, the Professional Firefighters of Oklahoma decided to fight back, and claimed that the new law was unconstitutional. In November, their claim went before the Oklahoma Supreme Court, who initially seemed to side with the firefighters. However, the court has now ruled, officially, that the new workers comp legislation is constitutional. On Monday, December 16th, the … [Read more...]
Nine Arrested for Contractor Fraud, No Workers Comp
December 15, 2013 by
Undercover Sting in Florida Lands 9 in Jail for Failing to Obtain Workers Comp After a two-day undercover operation in Florida, nine men have been arrested for failing to purchase workers comp for their employees, and committing contractor fraud. The investigation targeted unlicensed contractors in Manatee County. The contractors reportedly failed to purchase workers comp insurance for their employees, which is a violation of federal law. “This activity displays a blatant disregard for worker safety, and I commend this joint effort,” … [Read more...]
Chase Says Workers Comp and Unemployment Debit Cards Hacked
December 12, 2013 by
Hacked Debit Cards Could Expose Pennsylvanians Receiving Workers Comp or Unemployment On Thursday, December 5th, JP Morgan Chase in Pennsylvania announced that several of its prepaid debit and credit cards, issued to Pennsylvanians receiving unemployment or workers comp benefits, had been hacked. The hack attack effects holders of prepaid debit cards across multiple states, but Pennsylvania one of very few states that allows those cards, with Chase’s cooperation, as a method of collecting state benefits, including unemployment and workers … [Read more...]
Ex-WNBA Player Cannot File for Workers Comp
December 11, 2013 by
Former WNBA Player Cannot File Workers Comp Claim in California A woman who played professional women’s basketball for the Connecticut Sun has been denied a workers comp claim in California, according to a state court of appeals. Adrienne Johnson, who graduated from Ohio State in 1997, suffered injuries directly related to her sports career. In 2003, she had an MRI that revealed a knee injury. While she is officially signed with the Seattle Storm, she has not played a professional game in 10 years due to her work-related injury. In 2003, … [Read more...]
Oklahoma Supreme Court Overturns Workers Comp Reform
November 20, 2013 by
After Lawsuit, Oklahoma Supreme Court Tosses Out Workers Comp Reform Bill In September, the Professional Firefighters of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn a recently passed piece of workers comp legislation, Senate Bill 1062. Senator Harry Coates (R-Seminole), and Representative Emily Virgin (D-Norman) joined the lawsuit. Now, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled to overturn the workers comp bill. The bill was passed in the last legislative session, in May, and reportedly sought to reform the workers comp system in Oklahoma by … [Read more...]
New Study Tracks NY Workers Comp Reform Success
November 5, 2013 by
Workers Comp Reforms Made in New York in 2007 Now Tracked By Study to Measure Success The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) has released the results of a study that tracked changes made in the New York workers compensation system in 2007, to measure the success or failure of changes. The new study, “Monitoring Changes in New York after the 2007 Reforms,” is the latest edition of an annual report that tracks metrics of the performance of the state’s workers comp system after it was overhauled in 2007. Overall, the reforms … [Read more...]
Campus Cop Receives Workers Comp for Occupy Pepper Spray Incident
October 30, 2013 by
Notorious UC Davis Campus Cop Gets Workers Comp for Mental Damages Due to Occupy Protest Pepper Spray Incident The infamous former campus police officer, whose photo pepper spraying Occupy protestors in 2011 went viral on the internet, has been awarded $38,000 workers comp in a settlement agreement with the University of California, Davis campus. John Pike, 40 years old of Roseville, reported suffered mental and emotional damages related to the pepper spray incident, including depression and anxiety brought on by death threats sent to him … [Read more...]
Limiting California Workers Comp Bill Signed Into Law
October 18, 2013 by
California Governor Signs Controversial New Workers Comp Legislation Into Law After many months of debate, controversy, and lobbying, California Governor Jerry Brown has signed an updated workers comp bill into law. The bill, officially named AB 1309, places limits on the ability of former professional athletes to file workers comp claims in California. The state is one of the few in the nation that recognizes cumulative trauma in workers comp claims, and previously had relatively lax legislation for out-of-state workers, which including … [Read more...]
Idaho Business Owner Goes to Jail for No Workers Comp
October 2, 2013 by
Idaho Man Who Did Not Pay for Workers Comp Coverage for Business Will Serve Jail Time The owner of a fishing shop in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho served five days in jail, and his business was closed for three days, because he did not pay for workers comp insurance for his business and his employees. Joe Roope, Jr, owner of Joe Roope’s Castaway Fly Shop, Inc, was ordered by the District Court of Idaho to serve jail time for violating a court order, which prohibited him from operating his business without a workers comp policy in effect for his … [Read more...]
Wisconsin State Workers Comp Pays More for Care
September 22, 2013 by
New Study Shows that Workers Comp in Wisconsin Pays More for Medical Services A comparison of patients on a group health plan and using Wisconsin’s workers comp to treat injuries showed that the state’s workers comp paid more for health care than private insurance. The margin was not small, either. One price quote found that Wisconsin surgeons, performing the same arthroscopic knee surgery, collected $1,573 from group private insurance, and $3,728 from the state’s workers comp. The study has prompted several Wisconsin lawmakers to … [Read more...]
