News

Losses in the property/casualty insurance industry could top $100 billion from the COVID-19 pandemic, with workers compensation driving the losses more than other lines, according to a risk analysis of the insurance industry that Wells Fargo & Co. released Thursday. Workers compensation may be reaching an inflection, as the line is continuing to generate less rate than other property/casualty lines.…

The novel coronavirus ushered in shelter-in-place orders across the country and uncertainty about when life will return to what it was. As more states shift to gradually reopening their economies, the path toward normalcy also breeds new anxiety and questions about safe returns to work and businesses. Contracting coronavirus at work or from a business or restaurant isn’t easily resolved…

As businesses welcome workers back into the workplace, employers must tread a narrow path between gathering information to protect their workers’ health and protecting their privacy, experts say. Businesses must comply with federal laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as state and even local laws that may be broader, they say. The Illinois Biometrics Information Privacy Act…

Illinois lawmakers in both houses on Friday passed an omnibus labor bill that would provide death benefits for first responders who were presumably infected with COVID-19 on duty and workers compensation benefits for essential workers under certain conditions. H.B. 2455 also revises state code to expand unemployment benefits and enhance sick pay and leave for workers who contract the virus.…

States with no workers compensation fee schedule pay higher prices for professional services, though prices vary significantly across the U.S., according to researchers from the Workers Compensation Research Institute’s medical price index study released Tuesday. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based institute evaluated prices paid in workers compensation for professional services billed by physicians, physical therapists and chiropractors in 36 study states between…

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued revised enforcement guidance to help employers evaluate whether a workplace case of COVID-19 is recordable. While the guidance, released Tuesday for OSHA regional administrators and OSHA-approved State Plans, does not remove an employer’s requirement to evaluate any positive cases of coronavirus reported by employees for work-relatedness, it does provide examples to help…