Walmart Cuts Health Care Benefits to Part-Time Employees, But Move Could Increase Workers Comp Claims Retail giant Walmart recently announced that the company planned to raise health care costs for 1.3 million of its full-time staff, and health care benefits would be cut completely for the 30,000 part-time workers who work at Walmart stores less than 30 hours per week. However, studies in worker health care benefits suggest that Walmart could have increased its overall costs, because employees without health insurance often seek financial … [Read more...]
Telecommuters and Workers Comp
May 2, 2020 by
How Should Employers Treat Workers Comp Claims from Telecommuters? With the rise of the internet, more and more people work from home, “telecommuting” into the office through email, Skype, chats, and shared storage like DropBox and Google Docs. Workers at a home office can still injure themselves while working for their employer, but because of the nebulous line between home and telecommuters, working in telecommuting jobs, workers comp claims become more complicated. A recent survey from WorldatWork showed that 88% of companies offer … [Read more...]
Ohio Workers Comp Settlement for $420 Million
April 29, 2020 by
Workers Comp Bureau of Ohio Class Action Workers Comp Settlement for $420 Million A judge in Ohio has okayed a workers comp settlement in a class action lawsuit against the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation, to the tune of $420 million. The class action lawsuit, approved on Thursday, July 24th, settles a 7-year-long case against the workers comp bureau that alleges state employers were overcharges for their workers comp premiums. The $420 million will go to a fund to around 200,000 small businesses to repay the workers comp money they … [Read more...]
SC Workers Comp Rates Set to Decrease
April 21, 2020 by
South Carolina Workers Comp Premiums Will Go Down in 2nd Half of 2014 SC workers comp premiums are set to decrease by 7.4% in the second half of 2014, after two years of moderate increases. Director of Insurance Ray Farmer agreed to the new SC workers compensation rates, which he says will take effect on September 1st this year. “We’ve had a good sign when it comes to frequency and severity and this is another positive for businesses in South Carolina,” said Farmer. The National Council of Compensation Insurance (NCCI) filed for the … [Read more...]
No Workers Comp Benefits for Paralyzed Car Crash Victim
April 12, 2020 by
Paralyzed Victim Not On Employer’s Time, Workers Comp Benefits Denied A state appeals court ruled that a North Carolina man cannot receive workers comp benefits for a car crash that occurred after he attended a lunch organized by his employer. In 2010, John Graven Jr. worked for the North Carolina Highway Patrol as a technical support analyst. He and co-worker Kathryn Wall attended a lunch that the Highway Patrol organized “to celebrate the department’s hard work.” However, the lunch gathering was not required by the department, and less … [Read more...]
California Chiropractor Charged with Workers Comp and Insurance Fraud
April 10, 2020 by
Chiropractor Nicknamed “The Godfather” Arraigned on Workers Comp and Insurance Fraud Charges On Friday, September 5th, a Riverside, California-based chiropractor who has nicknames like “The Godfather” and “Number One” has been arraigned on charges of workers comp and insurance fraud. Peyman Heidary, 44, has not only been charged with workers comp fraud, but also with heading a criminal organization, which established medical clinics in Riverside, Orange, and Los Angeles Counties in California, and also establishing a law firm that sent … [Read more...]
AT&T Not Liable for Telecommute Workers Comp Death Benefits
March 6, 2020 by
Court Releases AT&T From Paying Workers Comp Death Benefits for Telecommute Worker’s Family On Wednesday, July 30th, the Supreme Court of New Jersey freed AT&T from paying a workers comp death benefits claim to the family of a telecommuting worker who died from a blood clot while working for 10 hours straight. Cathleen Renner died in September 2007 from a pulmonary thromboembolism after sitting at her desk working for 10 hours straight. James P. Renner, Cathleen’s husband and now widower, filed a workers comp death benefits claim … [Read more...]
Ebola Could Be Covered by Workers Comp in Some Cases
October 23, 2014 by
Ebola Could Be Considered “Occupational Hazard” and Covered by Workers Comp for Some Jobs Thousands of people in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea have died after contracting Ebola in one of the worst outbreaks of this incredibly contagious disease seen so far. Other countries, including Nigeria, Senegal, Spain, and US also have a small number of cases, showing just how contagious this fluid-borne illness can be. As a second nurse in the United States has contracted Ebola from working with an Ebola patient, debate surges regarding safety … [Read more...]
Feds Raid Tampa Businesses Charged with Workers Comp Fraud
October 9, 2014 by
Two Tampa-Area Businesses Charged with Millions of Dollars in Workers Comp Fraud Federal agents raided two Tampa-based businesses on Thursday, October 2nd, after investigations showed the businesses had committed millions of dollars in workers comp fraud. AmeriMed Diagnostics advertises that they help injured federal workers with insurance and workers comp claims, and offers some medical services like physical therapy. Unnamed sources say that the AmeriMed offices committed “workers’ compensation fraud worth millions of … [Read more...]
Workers Comp Denied for Mesothelioma in WA State
September 26, 2014 by
Washington State Supreme Court Rules No Workers Comp for Mesothelioma Case On Thursday, September 18th, the Supreme Court of Washington State found that a worker who died in 2013 of mesothelioma caused by working in one of Boeing’s plants was not eligible for workers comp, as Boeing could not know the conditions would cause the disease. The workers comp appeal was originally brought forth by Gary Walston, a former employee of Boeing who was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2010. Walston claimed that, while working for Boeing from 1956 to … [Read more...]
