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Nine people were charged for advertising services without having workers compensation coverage, according to the Florida Department of Financial Services Division of Insurance Fraud. The arrests followed a three-day undercover sting ending Friday in Manatee County involving the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, Bradenton Police Department, Palmetto Police Department, Longboat Key Police Department, and several others. Click here to read more:

Two Miami brothers have been charged in a workers compensation scam. Jorge Hernandez-Gonzalez, 25, set up a shell business Hernago and Associates Inc. and then purchased a minimal worker’s compensation policy for it, according to Broward Sheriff’s investigators. Click here to read more:

Determining whether an employee's illness is being caused by something in the workplace, making them eligible for workers compensation benefits, is a complicated and often inconclusive process. Employers hire Rene Salazar to investigate whether an employee's condition is related to their workplace when they have pending comp claims or lawsuits, the Tampa-based University of South Florida professor and microbiologist said Monday at the Workers' Compensation Institute conference in Orlando, Florida. Click here to read more:

State regulators will consider a proposal to reduce workers-compensation insurance premiums by an average of 2.2 percent in 2016, according to documents released Friday. The National Council on Compensation Insurance, which annually proposes worker-compensation rates, pointed to a series of reasons for the potential decreases, which would vary depending on the type of industry. Click here to read more:

In South Florida, investigators from the Florida Department of Financial Services are increasingly showing up on construction projects to investigate insurance fraud claims under the provisions of Chapter 440, Florida Statutes. These state agents have broad powers, including, but not limited to: entering a project site without a search warrant, questioning employees, requesting project records, and issuing stop work orders. Click here to read more:

In any business sector, workers’ compensation claims are inevitable, but with proper risk management and a proactive approach, you can keep the associated costs to a minimum. The key is preventing employee hazards and injuries from happening in the first place by developing and maintaining a safe working environment. If these efforts are not made or simply ignored, workers’ compensation claims and payouts can damage your reputation, employee relationships and your bottom line. Click here to read more:

The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a blog post with new guidance on classifying workers as employees or independent contractors under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA), an issue that has attracted renewed attention in the on-demand economy. Click here to read more:

A pending Florida Supreme Court decision and state legislative efforts are putting new focus on how to fairly compensate workers compensation attorneys without inviting additional litigation and greatly increasing claim costs. The Florida Supreme Court is expected to rule soon in Marvin Castellanos v. Next Door Co. et. al., which challenges the constitutionality of Florida's cap on attorney fees for workers compensation claimants. Click here to read more:

Florida's Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced the arrests of six in Central Florida tied to an elaborate Workers' Compensation insurance fraud scheme last week. According to a release from the office of the CFO, an investigation led by the Department of Financial Services' Division of Insurance Fraud uncovered a large-scale premium fraud scheme in which the six individuals created multiple shell corporations in order to systematically conceal payroll amounts for the purpose of obtaining low-cost Workers' Comp policies. The investigators say that beginning in September 2012, the following were opened and operated as shell companies: Click here to read more:

One year ago when the Foreword to the 2014 Edition of Dubreuil’s Florida Workers’ Compensation Handbook (LexisNexis) was prepared we noted two significant cases being watched by the workers’ compensation community. Somewhat surprisingly both cases are still pending and are awaiting a decision by the Florida Supreme Court. The Court takes its annual recess in August and it is looking like decisions in both cases may not be forthcoming until later in 2015. Click here to read more:

South Florida appeals court Wednesday overturned a circuit judge's constitutional ruling that threatened a major underpinning of the state's workers-compensation insurance system. A three-judge panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal tossed out the ruling, finding that plaintiffs did not have legal standing and the case was moot. The appeals court did not weigh in on whether the workers-compensation system was constitutional. Click here to read more:

Natasha Hallett was a longtime performer at Cirque du Soleil, playing a key role in the circus giant’s La Nouba show in Orlando, Fla. Then she made a mistake. Ms. Hallett says she forgot to put a double loop through her harness for a flying trick, and a colleague didn’t notice the oversight during a safety check. She tumbled about 40 feet to the stage during a Cirque performance, shattering 19 bones from the waist down. “Like a horse that broke its leg, once you are injured you are pretty much no good for them anymore,” Ms. Hallett said. Click here to read more: