News

The House of Representatives Wednesday passed a bill that would rewrite immigration requirements for immigrant farmworkers in the United States and require employers to provide workers compensation regardless of state laws. H.R. 5038, known as the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019, contains provisions related to alien farmworkers, including provisions establishing a certified agricultural worker status and changing a certain…

The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed for a woman who alleged she is owed more in partial impairment benefits for an amputation on her hand than she was awarded by the Worker’s Compensation Board. While working for manufacturing company Foremost Fabricators, Gina Senter’s pinkie finger on her left hand got caught between two rollers on a roller machine. She…

A trucking company and its driver face accusations of negligence over a crash that allegedly caused injuries to another motorist. Thomas Ritchie filed suit Nov. 18 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Olero Inc. and driver Ilkhom Islomov in connection with the collision on Dec. 20, 2017, eastbound on I-64 close to the intersection with Rieder Road. Defendant Olero…

A building company fired one of its carpenters to send a message to other employees to not file a workers' compensation claim, a lawsuit states. LDC Homes, which is based in Edwardsville, terminated the employment of plaintiff Randy Klocke on June 13, according to the suit filed Nov. 15 in Madison County Circuit Court. Klocke had worked for the company…

A provider of services to rehabilitating injured workers, MedRisk Inc. has seen post-surgical physical therapy cases drop by 26% in the last five years, according to an industry trends report the company released Thursday. For its annual report, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based MedRisk examined recent changes, including relevant legislation, regulation and research, scouring its own data and other industry reports…

McDonald’s Corp employees on Thursday sued the fast food giant and several of its franchisees in Chicago over a store redesign that staffers say has made it easier for angry customers to leap over the counter and attack them. The suit, filed in Illinois’ Circuit Court of Cook County by 17 Chicago-area McDonald’s workers, claims McDonald’s has failed to protect…

The ever-present immigration debate continues to spill into the workers compensation industry, with undocumented workers who are injured on the job left to consider whether to pursue medical care and benefits at the risk of arrest and deportation, experts say. Case law and state statutes vary widely regarding what benefits may be afforded to an injured undocumented worker, and these…

Dean Foods was ordered to pay $3.3 million in punitive damages after an Illinois jury found that the company retaliated against an employee who filed workers' compensation claims. The jury found that Dean Foods refused to call Richard Jankowski back to work after his on-the-job injury and after he refused work that exceeded his medical restrictions, the Northwest Herald reported.…

A former worker for Rock Island County, Illinois, once accused of accessing a co-worker's computer, will receive thousands of dollars in a settlement with the county, including almost $26,000 for a workers' compensation claim. Rock Island County board members this week approved the settlement, on the condition that Ronna Baney never seeks work with the county again, according to a…