Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Injured Workers Continue to Decline While Employer Costs Rise

Study Finds Benefits as a Share of Payroll Approach Lowest in Three Decades

Workers’ compensation benefits as a share of payroll for injured workers continue to decline even as employment grows and overall employer costs increase, according to anew report from the National Academy of Social Insurance (the Academy).

Lead: Bringing it Home From Work

NIOSH reports that homes may be contaminated by toxic substances such as lead when employees bring home the contaminates. Bystander exposure occurs when employees bring home toxic substances on their bodies, clothing or other objects. Lead affects the developing nervous system of children, and no safe blood lead level (BLL) in children has been identified:

CMS to Speed-Up MSP Collection Practices

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that it intends to speed up its collections practices enforcing the Medicare Secondary Payer Act (MSP). CMS stated that such procedures are mandatory under the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 or the DATA Act Public Law No: 113-101 (05/09/2014).

The Plot Thickens As Uber Turns to Leasing Vehicles

Uber is about to change "the rules" yet again by now leasing vehicles to its drivers. While there is great uncertainty of how "employment status" will be interpreted going forward in the new sharing economy, one thing is for certain, the concept will continue to evolve and redefine the traditional workplace.

Reshaping Workers’ Compensation for the Sharing Economy

The most dramatic factor reshaping the future of workers’ compensation is the emergence of the sharing economy. Quietly over the decades, “work” has been dramatically influenced by the Millennial Generation. As the sharing generation reinvents the economy, the element of “trust” will have the most significant impact on the direction of social legislative programs, such as workers’ compensation.

Fiat Chrysler to Pay $105M Fine - Violations Safety Act

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced today that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has acknowledged violations of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act’s requirements to repair vehicles with safety defects and will submit to rigorous federal oversight, buy back some defective vehicles from owners, and agreed to a $105 million civil penalty, the largest ever imposed by the Department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Home is an Odyssey For The Aging Population

Workers' Compensation over the decades has had a very narrow and limited view of "home improvement" benefits for an aging and disabled workforce. That view is focussed on the immediate and maybe a 5 year plan going into the future. With increasing life expectancy of the entire population the workers' compensation system will need to adapt to what is considered "home" and adapt to new factors in an ever changing world.