Newsletter Sign-up

The Bureau of Workers' Compensation proposed amendments to a rule regarding services and supplies never covered by the bureau.

Fewer medical services were provided to workers with low back injuries after the implementation of medical treatment guidelines in Texas in 2007. The Workers Compensation Research Institute also reports evidence of increases and decreases in medical utilization for injured workers with neck and upper back, shoulder, and knee injuries.

Rates for workers' comp and general liability rose an average 6 percent in August, according to the latest barometer from MarketScout.

Employers targeted for their indifference to responsibilities under the OSH Act now have a way out of a special program. The government has published the criteria required for removal from the Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

Workers in the oil and gas industry are targeted for possible new protection approaches. Several federal agencies are soliciting input on the use of performance-based regulatory models to enhance safety.

The Division of Workers' Compensation proposed amendments to rules of procedure.

A plan to reform the workers' comp system will either protect workers and employers or cause large groups of injured workers to lose compensation, depending on who is talking. California regulators and attorneys for injured workers are squarely on opposite sides of the plan.

Workers' comp providers seeking more information on evidence-based opioid treatments will get some help thanks to an improved online tool.

Employers looking to cut their workers' comp costs may want to offer or expand their paid sick leave benefits. New research indicates workers who took paid time off when they were sick performed better and had fewer workplace injuries.

Better accommodations and safety programs are called for after the release of a study on injuries to workers with disabilities.

Workplace programs aimed at decreasing hypertension could go a long way in improving employees' overall health, suggests a new study. Workers with high stress levels may be especially prone to hypertension resulting from repeated high levels of blood pressure.

"Workers' compensation underlying costs have continued to deteriorate since our last pure premium rate filing, submitted April 12, 2012." With that, the California Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau summarized its rate filing for January 2013.

The Division of Workers' Compensation issued a bulletin setting the assessment rate for the special disability trust fund and the workers' compensation administration trust fund.

ORLANDO -- Concerns about the aging of the workforce may all be for naught, suggest two workers' comp experts. Comorbidities will likely result in more baby boomers leaving the workforce sooner than previously thought.

"Duration for claims with prescribed opioid pain medication is clearly higher than for claims without opioids prescribed," says a new NCCI study. While acknowledging opioids do not necessarily cause longer durations, the researchers say it may be an area that warrants further research.

Brooms should not be used to clean up broken fluorescent light bulbs because they can spread any mercury that has been released. Likewise, vacuums should not be used unless they are specially designed to collect mercury.