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An organization which helps Illinois local governments pool their workers' compensation insurance has won the chance to sidestep the federal courts’ “black hole” as it pursues its own legal claims against the makers and distributors of so-called opioid painkillers. On July 15, rather than waiting on others in the federal judiciary to decide what to do with the case, U.S.…

A House of Representatives bill would direct the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to adopt a standard to prevent occupational exposure to excessive heat in both indoor and outdoor environments. However, some observers say it is unnecessary, given that OSHA can issue its own regulations. Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., and Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, D-Ariz., on Wednesday introduced the…

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has released a strategy for managing potentially harmful chemicals that would assign them into categories to help protect workers. A vast number of chemical substances in commerce do not have occupational exposure limits, meaning that workers may be exposed to these substances at potentially harmful levels, John Howard, director of NIOSH, said…

The number of workers who fall outside of workers compensation is likely to rise in the future, potentially impacting workers compensation, according to a report released Thursday by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. The Boca Raton, Florida-based NCCI released its quarterly economics briefing, which revealed that more people are relying on nontraditional work as a secondary source of income,…

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Hudapack Metal Treating of Illinois Inc. – based in Glendale Heights, Illinois – for 21 serious health and safety violations. The company faces penalties of $181,662. OSHA inspected the company in December 2018 after an employee was electrocuted while using a damaged portable lamp when cleaning the…

Workers compensation payments in all drug categories — including opioids — dropped in 25 of 27 states studied by the Workers Compensation Research Institute over the last three years, and dermatological agents are making up a larger percentage of the drug spend in many states. Researchers at the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based WCRI evaluated workers compensation drug payments in the first quarters…