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A bill expanding workers’ compensation coverage to first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder has been filed for the 2018 Legislative session. Senate Bill 126 would make first responders with PTSD eligible for lost wages without also having a physical injury. “We’re going to start pushing the committee chairs to hear the bill. We already have a house sponsor,” said Kissimmee Democrat Victor Torres, who filed the bill. “Just gearing up to make sure we move this as quickly as possible.” Click here to read more:

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) will conduct a public hearing to discuss the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s (NCCI) proposed overall statewide average workers’ compensation premium decrease of 9.6 percent on Oct. 18 at 1:00 pm EST. The public hearing will be held at 412 Knott Building, 404 South Monroe Street, Florida Capitol Complex in Tallahassee. The proposed rate decrease, filed in August, includes a statewide average rate decrease of 9.3 percent and a reduction of the fixed expense cost applicable to every workers’ compensation policy in Florida from $200 to $160. If approved, the new rates would take effect Jan. 1, 2018. Click here to read more:

Just a year after dire predictions that the state's economy was in peril due to rising insurance costs, Florida businesses could see an average 9.3 percent reduction in workers' compensation premiums in the coming year under a rate filing Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier will consider later this month. If approved, manufacturing businesses could see a 10.3 percent reduction in their workers' compensation rates, and rates for office and clerical businesses could decrease by 11.3 percent. Click here to read more:

Anti-fraud strike teams comprised of investigators working for the Department of Financial Services’ Division of Investigative and Forensic Services will soon be deployed across the state in an effort to to protect Floridians from post-storm fraud, according to a statement from the Florida Department of Financial Services. CFO Patronis announced the formation of three teams that will work in areas heavily impacted by Hurricane Irma: South Florida, including Miami-Dade and Monroe counties; Southwest Florida, including Lee and Collier counties; and Central Florida, including Polk and Orange counties. Click here to read more:

In a story Sept. 13 on whether workers’ compensation should cover medical marijuana, The Associated Press reported erroneously the name of a compensation insurance trade group. It is the National Council on Compensation Insurance, not the National Counsel for Compensation Insurance. A corrected version of the story is below: Insurer says it shouldn’t have to pay for medical marijuana The Maine supreme court is wading into the issue of medical marijuana and workers’ compensation Click here to read more:

A Miami-based bakery is facing $129,000 in proposed penalties from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for exposing workers to amputation, fire and noise hazards. OSHA inspected Hometown Foods USA, a commercial bakery doing business as Bagelmania Inc., after receiving a complaint alleging machine guarding, forklift and noise hazards. OSHA cited Hometown Foods for 16 serious and other-than-serious safety and health violations for its failure to ensure proper machine guarding on several pieces of equipment, develop and implement an emergency action plan, provide personal protective equipment, develop and implement a hazardous energy control program, and ensure all safety devices on ovens were inspected at least twice a month, according to a press release issued by the agency Thursday. Click here to read more:

ob satisfaction remains a top ingredient in creating a safety culture in the workplace, according a 30-year safety professional weighing in on an oft-missing component of safety plans. “With (job satisfaction) comes the quality improvements; job satisfaction is forgotten in the world today,” Chet Brandon, Indianapolis-based vice president and corporate safety officer with safety consulting firm ATI Worksite Solutions. “We forget that it’s still people at the end of the day making it happen.” Click here to read more:

Just under a year since Florida workers’ compensation rates shot up by 14.5 percent, Florida businesses may get some relief in their workers’ comp premiums. The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) has recommended to Florida regulators an overall premium level decrease of 9.6 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2018. Click here to read more:

Florida businesses could see workers’ compensation insurance premiums decrease in 2018, after a tumultuous period that included a double-digit rate hike late last year and a lobbying battle about whether to revamp workers’ compensation laws. The National Council on Compensation Insurance, which proposes rates for workers’ compensation insurers, said Monday it was recommending an average premium decrease of 9.6 percent effective Jan. 1. The proposal will be reviewed by the state Office of Insurance Regulation, which can approve the decrease or direct changes. Click here to read more:

Safety commission vacates employer citations from bulldozer death | Business Insurance Adverstisement Begins Adverstisement Ends StartFragment An administrative law judge of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has vacated two citations issued by federal safety and health regulators against a Florida contractor involving a workplace fatality. Justin Smith died in October 2015 after he was struck by a bulldozer operated in reverse while working at an apartment complex construction project in Saint Petersburg, Florida, where Riverview, Florida-based Central Site Development L.L.C. was engaged in site development work, according to commission documents. However, Mr. Smith worked for a subcontractor engaged in underground pipe work hired by Central Site. EndFragment Click here to read more:

Q: I am a general contractor and uncertain how the Internal Revenue Service will view my relationship with sub-contractors. Are they regarded as independent contractors or my employees? A: The question of who is an independent contractor seems to be a constant source of confusion among many small business owners. One notion is that if an individual signs an independent contractor agreement, the general contractor or employer has nothing to fear from the Internal Revenue Service. Such an agreement is not worth the paper it’s written on unless it meets certain criteria established by IRS. Click here to read more:

The Florida First District Court of Appeal has overturned an order in a workers' compensation case, ruling that a worker forfeited his right to benefits for a workplace accident after he offered conflicting details about his medical history and the cause of his injuries. Cal-Maine Foods had appealed the ruling by the Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) to reject multiple defenses to compensability of a work accident and related benefits. Click here to read more: