Delaware workers’ comp rates drop for fifth consecutive year
Delaware Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro recently announced workers’ compensation rates are decreasing for the fifth year in a row. The voluntary market is seeing an average 20.02 percent reduction, and residual market rates will go down an average of 20.01 percent. Cape Gazette
British Columbia workers’ comp system may be overhauled
The workers’ compensation system in British Columbia could be getting a major overhaul in the coming year. The province’s labor minister is looking at recommendations from several expert reports received by government since 2017, noting the ministry is reviewing options for safe asbestos abatement. Journal of Commerce
Tampa lead factory to face new monitoring schedule
A Tampa lead factory, where employees recycle lead from old car batteries, will face increased government scrutiny as soon as next week, after a Tampa Bay Times investigation found it took steps to limit pollution when it knew environmental regulators were watching. The new monitoring schedule makes Hillsborough County, Florida the only place in the nation performing randomized air sampling around a lead smelter, according to officials. Tampa Bay Times
Wildland firemen relying on GoFundMe to survive after getting injured
When they get injured fighting fires, wildland firemen need to file a claim with the federal Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, known as OWCP, but a slow workers’ compensation process, rejected claims, and unpaid bills can send them into financial hell. So they ask for donations online to help them repair their blown-out knees, broken pelvises, and shattered spines; to help them recover from seizures and heart attacks; to pay for treatment for cancers that have taken over their bodies after years of inhaling toxic smoke; and to help families whose main provider died in plane crashes and other on-the-job accidents. BuzzFeed News