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Two years ago, James Klenk of Freehold, N.J. suffered a heat stroke and went into renal failure after several days sorting and unloading heavy boxes in the back of a UPS truck. He had been a driver for UPS for 14 years and almost died that day. Klenk is one of countless workers across the country enduring symptoms of heat…

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has vetoed, with recommended changes, a workers’ compensation measure that would have allowed for interest to be paid on delayed payment in disputes between insurers and medical service providers. In his letter explaining his veto action, Rauner stated: “SB 904, as approved by the General Assembly, proposes changes to the Workers’ Compensation Act to: 1) provide…

Ninety-two current and former employees of two Indiana lawn care companies – Super Cutz Lawn Care LLC and Precision Cut Lawn Service – have received $59,926 in back wages following two investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) that found employers violated overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In its…

Who remembers Alphonse Maddin? Maddin came briefly to national attention in spring of 2017, after Donald Trump appointed Neil Gorsuch to the supreme court. Maddin was a truck driver and the central character in one of Gorsuch’s worst opinions as a circuit court judge. His story is one of the rare prominent examples of a vast, hidden world of American…

Physicians, hospitals and other providers that treat Illinois’ injured workers are in a severe crisis. In recent years, workers’ compensation insurers have exploited loopholes to avoid complying with basic requirements of Illinois law. It’s time to eliminate these loopholes. The issue is enforcement of current laws requiring timely workers’ compensation insurer approvals and health care provider reimbursement — these profitable…

A Sacramento business is alleged to have failed to pay a premium for an insurance policy. Zurich American Insurance Co. of Illinois filed a complaint on July 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California against Vforce Inc., doing business as Vforce Staffing Solutions, and Does 1 to 100 alleging breach of contract. According to the…

A Wyoming based mail hauler has been indicted by a Stark County Grand Jury for allegedly defrauding the United States Postal Service of $1.9 million in insurance premiums. The indictment was filed July 13, 2018 and a warrant for arrest was issued. Keith A. Ratcliff, 53, has been charged with multiple felonies including theft by deception, a Class X felony,…

Prescribing in the workers compensation industry is down across the board, including a 65.1% drop in the costs for compound medications, according to a report released Tuesday by Coventry Workers Comp. The third in a series covering workers comp drug trends, Downers Grove, Illinois-based Coventry reported on the state of opioids and compound medication prescriptions for injured workers. According to…

Illinois' workers' compensation laws are so outdated that it costs taxpayers more than in any other state in the region and hinders the state’s economy, according to the Illinois Policy Institute (IPI). A July report by the institute states that workers’ comp insurance and income injured workers receive while out of work costs state and local government $1 billion annually.…