The insurance industry as a whole is always changing. This is especially true for the workers' compensation insurance sector, since each state has it's own set of laws and regulations governing their program.
While current trends for workers' compensation may vary from state to state, what affects employers in one area of the country could eventually ripple out towards employers in another area. So, with that in mind, here are 4 of the most interesting current news stories surround workers' compensation programs from the last few weeks:
3. Hawaii Increased Penalties for Workers' Compensation Violations
On July 1st, the governor of Hawaii, David Ige, signed Act 187 into law. Under this law, penalties for or workers' compensation insurance violations increased from $10 per employee to $100. The act was primarily meant to protect employees in the construction industry where employers often neglected purchasing the insurance all together. Click here to learn more about these changes.
2. Ohio Expands Workers' Compensation Program Coverage for Out-of-State Employees
Historically, if a business employs workers in multiple states, they have had to juggle multiple workers' compensation policies, a task that is both daunting and confusing. Recently, however, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation passed a policy that simplifies this process. Now employees of Ohio-based businesses who work in other states can be covered under a single workers' compensation policy.
Many believe this change will lead to greater growth for Ohio businesses as they no longer have to worry about the red tape and administrative hassles of managing multiple policies in states with different laws. To read more about this change, and how it will affect business in Ohio, click here.
1. A California Lawsuit Alleges That the State's Workers' Compensation Program Is Sexist
On July 6th, three women, along with the SEIU California State Council, filed a lawsuit against California's Division of Workers' Compensation and other various state agencies and officials alleging that women in California experience systemic gender discrimination when receiving workers' compensation benefits.
The women claim that though the causes of their injuries and/or illnesses were officially declared to be work-related, they received little to no disability benefits because medical examiners attributed part of their suffering to "risk factors" tied to outdated stereotypes surrounding the female gender.
Because gender inequality issues, particularly in the workforce, are such hot button topics right now, some sources believe that the result of this lawsuit could have huge ramifications for workers' compensation policies all over the country. To learn more about the lawsuit and the types of discrimination faced by these women, you can read articles on CBS Los Angeles, USA Today, and Slate.
Comment and Share!
What trends or current events have you seen for workers' compensation insurance? What are your thoughts on how the one we've outlined might affect the industry as a whole? Let us know what you think by commenting and sharing below!