Quote of the day
“Enforcement efforts helped abate more than 7,000 fall-related hazards in the construction industry.”
Loren Sweatt, Labor Department principal deputy assistant secretary of occupational safety
Note to our valued subscribers: Workers’ Comp Executive will be taking its annual holiday break starting Monday, December 23, 2019. We will resume daily publication Monday, January 6, 2020.
Virginia commission approves revisions to workers’ compensation premium levels
The Virginia State Corporation Commission has approved revisions proposed by National Council on Compensation Insurance to workers’ compensation insurance premiums. Officials expect the changes to decrease the overall premium level for the industrial, federal, surface and underground coal mine classifications in the voluntary market and assigned risk plan. The changes will become effective April 1, 2020, for new and renewal workers’ compensation policies, according to the commission. WSET
Construction deaths rose last year; Industry’s fatality rate steady
Construction deaths on the job rose about 4 percent in 2018 but the industry’s fatality rate remained level, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among construction sectors, deaths in the heavy and civil engineering segment climbed 18 percent in 2018. Engineering News-Record
Minnesota: Cass County’s workers’ comp division honored
Cass County, Minnesota is the 2019 recipient of Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust’s award for Outstanding Performance in the Workers’ Compensation Division, for consistently improving claims handling in the area of workplace injury and illnesses, being committed to reducing employee injuries and having an overall focus on loss control and risk management. Brainerd Dispatch
Texas truck stop owner found guilty of workers’ comp fraud
The owner of a George West, Texas truck stop has pleaded guilty to filing a fraudulent insurance claim for a man who was not an employee, but was married to an employee, and was injured while changing a tire, according to the Texas Department of Insurance. KZTV (Corpus Christi)
Illinois law did not preempt lawsuit under biometric privacy act
A federal district court in Illinois this week denied an employer’s motion to dismiss an employee’s lawsuit, holding the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act did not preempt the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act as the employee’s sole remedy because the employee properly alleged the company was acting intentionally when it collected the biometric information. The biometric information statute requires employers to provide notice and consent to employees prior to collection of biometric information such as fingerprints, on how such information will be collected and used, who it is disclosed to and how and when it will be deleted. National Law Review