Quote of the day
“So, by advancing this bill, workers’ rights are restored. Those who have latent occupational diseases will be able to file claims in the workers’ compensation system, thereby making it efficient and fair to both employees and employers.”
Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny)
Pennsylvania House committee advances workers’ comp bill
An amended bill that the Pennsylvania House Labor and Industry Committee recently advanced would allow up to 300 weeks to file a workers’ compensation claim from the diagnosis of an occupational disease with a long latency timeframe, including asbestos-related cancers. The bill, which now moves to the full House for consideration, also reaffirms that state workers’ compensation legislation provides exclusive remedy for long latency timeframe occupational diseases. Pennsylvania Business Report
Southwest Florida business owners remain optimistic in short-term
PNC Financial Group’s latest “Economic Outlook” finds Florida business leaders are optimistic about the state and national economies for the coming six months. Three quarters of Florida’s small and mid-size business owners believe a recession is unlikely, while 22 percent say it is likely before the end of 2019, according to the survey. State insurance regulators have issued an order calling for a 7.5 percent cut in workers’ comp rates for 2020, higher than the 5.4 percent decrease proposed by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. Herald-Tribune
Texas: Traveling summit brings safety information to businesses
Texas has led the nation in the total number of on-the-job fatalities every year since 2009, but with better training and resources, the situation is preventable, more than 300 businesspeople from across North Texas were told at a recent safety summit in Las Colinas. Sponsored by Texas Mutual Insurance Company, the summit provided employers with information on a variety of topics including proper hydration, safety culture, training technologies and driver safety. Dallas Business Journal
New York corrections employee charged with false report of attack
A 48-year-old teacher at a New York correctional facility has bee arrested on charges of falsely claiming she was attacked and slashed on the leg by an inmate with a razor blade, in a special education class in late September. The teacher subsequently acknowledged she fabricated the report and cut herself, but did not explain why she did so. Authorities say she has a pending workers’ compensation claim for an earlier purported injury on the job. Post Star (Glens Falls, N.Y.)