Landscaper arraigned on workers’ comp fraud charges
A 23-year-old San Jacinto, California landscaper has been charged with felony insurance fraud after allegedly misrepresenting symptoms following a work-related injury in order to receive over $42,000 in undeserved workers’ compensation. Surveillance during the investigation showed the man conducting activities that contradicted the physical limitations he described to his doctor and his employer. Sierra Sun Times
Illinois justices to address whether workers’ comp act bars BIPA claims
The Illinois Supreme Court recently agreed to hear an appeal of an appellate court’s decision addressing whether an employee’s claim for damages under Illinois’s Biometric Information Protection Act, which requires companies that collect and use biometric information to establish a policy and obtain a written release prior to collecting such data, is preempted by the exclusivity provisions of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, write Maya Atrakchi and Jason Gavejian of Jackson Lewis P.C. JD Supra
Family of murdered guard seeks $3 million settlement from Minnesota
A bill in the Minnesota Senate calls for a $3 million direct settlement payment to the family of a 45-year old corrections officer who was murdered by an inmate in 2018, on grounds the prison workshop where he was stationed was unsafe and understaffed. The family received a $60,000 workers compensation payment after his death. KSTP (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
TSA employee’s family still waiting for death benefits
The family of a Transportation Security Administration baggage screener who died of COVID-19 in Hawaii are still waiting for a payout from his employer. His wife reportedly filed for workers’ compensation a month after he died. If approved, the family is entitled to 75 percent of his annual pay. A union spokesman says the TSA is trying to deny the benefits on grounds the employee did not become ill at work. Hawaii News Now
Connecticut labor committee approves COVID workers’ comp claims bills
After a lengthy debate last week, the Connecticut Labor and Public Employees Committee has advanced a bill would allow employees who contract coronavirus to make workers’ compensation claims with the presumption that they were infected on the job. Labor leaders recently testified that more than 3,100 Connecticut workers had pending claims related to COVID-19. CT News Junkie