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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:

At age 31, Nixon Arias cut a profile similar to many unauthorized immigrants in the United States. A native of Honduras, he had been in the country for more than a decade and had worked off and on for a landscaping company for nine years. The money he earned went to building a future for his family in Pensacola, Fla. His Facebook page was filled with photos of fishing and other moments with his three boys, ages 3, 7 and 8. Nixon Arias worked off and on for a Florida landscaping company for nine years before a legitimate injury at work resulted in his arrest, prosecution and deportation to Honduras. But in November 2013, that life began to unravel. Click here to read more:

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 10 serious violations with total proposed penalties of $119,507 after three employees of a Michigan general contractor died from exposure to toxic gases in a manhole at a Florida worksite in January. A 34-year-old pipe layer entered the manhole and quickly became unresponsive. A 49-year-old laborer and a 24-year-old equipment operator followed in a rescue attempt. All three men died in the incident, according to the statement issued Tuesday by OSHA. Click here to read more:

The 1st District Court of Appeals has overturned a 2016 ruling issued by a circuit court that invalidated a statewide increase in workers' compensation insurance rates. The ruling immediately reinstates the 14.5 percent rate increase approved in October. In the ruling, the appeals said that circuit court erred when it voided the Office of Insurance Regulation's order instating the rate increase. Click here to read more:

The Florida Senate adjourned Friday without passing either of the workers compensation reform bills addressing 2016 Florida Supreme Court decisions in Bradley Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg and Marvin Castellanos v. Next Door Co. et al. ​ House Bill 7085 would have extended total combined temporary wage replacement benefits from 104 weeks to 260 weeks, capped attorney fees at $150 an hour and allowed a Judge of Compensation Claims to award an hourly fee different from the statutory percentage-based attorney fee schedule. Senate Bill 1582 would have increased the time limit on temporary partial disability and temporary total disability benefits from 104 weeks to 260 weeks and capped attorney fees at $250 an hour. Click here to read more:

Employer groups are threatening to bolt and trial lawyers are in open revolt as lawmakers spend the final days of the 2017 session haggling over workers’ compensation reforms. The trouble began last year when the Florida Supreme Court struck down business-friendly reforms dating back more than a decade. Gone were strict caps on attorney fees and limits on disability benefits. “I want to also talk about workers’ comp. This is, I think, maybe the most important business issue of the session.” That was Florida Chamber of Commerce vice president David Hart addressing North Florida business leaders on the eve of the current session. "Insurance premiums spiked, hurting bottom lines across the state," Hart said. Click here to read more:

Florida’s workers compensation landscape has garnered attention for its legislative activity in response to major court decisions that have upended the system over the past year. The state is considering various reforms to address elements of its workers comp law that were struck down in separate Florida Supreme Court decisions in 2016: Bradley Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg and Marvin Castellanos v. Next Door Co. et al. The National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. initially sought a 19.6% increase in state workers comp rates in response to these court decisions last year, but the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approved only a 14.5% rate increase that took effect last December. Click here to read more:

Florida is already one of the hardest states for workers seeking treatment or lost wages when injured on the job. Now lawmakers are trying again to make it more difficult for employees to sue when they have wrongly been denied workers' compensation. Competing House and Senate bills would impose new caps on workers' attorney fees in such disputes, which critics say will discourage lawyers from taking cases. ​Backers don't entirely deny the charge. ​ Click here to read more:

The House defeated a series of Democratic amendments to its version of a workers’ compensation fix Tuesday, with sponsor Danny Burgess promising the bill would “enhance the fairness and the balance of the workers’ compensation system in Florida.” Burgess, whose Insurance & Banking Subcommittee drafted the legislation, also predicted a decline in premiums, ​ following the 14.5 percent rate increase that began taking effect in December. “We are told it could be up to a 5 percent reduction,” he said. ​Still, Democrats complained the bill was written more to please employers and insurance companies than working people. ​ “When are we going to put the workers first?” Tampa Democrat Sean Shaw wondered. Click here to read more:

A circuit court ruling that that said a workers' compensation group violated Florida's open records laws by not ensuring committee hearings and supporting documentation on a proposed rate increase were made available to the public is under appeal. “The primary question in this appeal is whether (National Council on Compensation Insurance) has a committee with a responsibility for workers' compensation rates and whether NCCI had such a committee with regards to the 2016 rates filings at issue," attorney James McKee recently said in his opening statement representing NCCI during an oral argument in the 1st District Court of Appeal. "The records unequivocally demonstrates the answer is no.” ​ Click here to read more: