The US Department of Labor on October 5th released a report entitled “Does the Workers’ Compensation System Fulfill Its Obligations to Injured Workers?”. The release of the report was accompanied by statements from the Secretary of Labor, the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, and the US DOL Assistant Secretary for OSHA. The report may be [...]
On September 28, 2016, The US Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) to provide appropriation authority so that the federal government could pay its bills after September 30th. The President is expected to sign the CR. The legislation includes a number of permanent provisions including a provision that prohibits the Veterans Administration from paying for medical [...]
On October 5th the US Department of Labor in coordination with the National Academy of Social Insurance will release two reports reviewing state workers’ compensation. The Department of Labor’s State Workers’ Compensation Report, which addresses recent trends in state workers’ compensation systems and the effect of these trends on workers, employers, and communities; and The National [...]
On August 19, 2016 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; Joint Rule for Unified and Combined State Plans, Performance Accountability, and the One-Stop System Joint Provisions; Final Rule was released by the US Department of Labor and the US Department of Education. See https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-08-19/pdf/2016-15977.pdf The final rule responds to a number of comments, including comments submitted [...]
The impact of the Florida Supreme Court decision in the Castellanos case http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2016/sc13-2082.pdf finding the statutory limitation on attorney fees to be unconstitutional prompted the NCCI rate fling with an increase of 15% associated with the decision. Most of the overall rate filing increase of 19.6% that would be effective for new and renewal business October [...]
The final DOL regulations defining the circumstances under which UI applicants may be tested for controlled substances as a condition of being paid unemployment were released today. See https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-08-01/pdf/2016-17738.pdf . The final regulations continue a very narrow interpretation of an already narrow statutory provision describing the circumstances under which a state may perform drug tests. The [...]
The debate over “reasonable” attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases continues in Florida and will likely reverberate across the country as states review their laws in light of the recent Florida Supreme Court case in Castellanos v. Next Door Company. See http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2016/sc13-2082.pdf In the Castellanos case the majority opinion concluded that The right of an injured [...]
According to some recent polling in Colorado it appears that Colorado Amendment 69, which would increase employer paid payroll taxes to establish a new state single payer system, has substantial support and it could pass as an initiative in Colorado. In addition to the increased payroll tax that it would impose, passage would raise questions about [...]
In an extended opinion released February 26, 2016, the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission held Based upon these findings and conclusions we hold that the Oklahoma Employee lnjury Benefit Act, in establishing and defining the conditions to be a Qualified Benefit Plan at section 203, denies equal protection to injured workers in oklahoma, and that Section 203, [...]
The US Department of Labor on February 29th published Information Collection Regulations for comment in the Federal Register concerning the required reporting of Reemployment Eligibility Assessments (REAs) and Reemployment Services. See https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-03-01/pdf/2016-04477.pdf. The proposal would modify the requirements so as to limit the required reports to individuals provided these services. Specifically, the proposed regulations would require [...]