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The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation can retroactively reclassify a company's workforce and collect more than $1 million in back premiums regardless of whether the employer was at fault, the state Supreme Court has ruled. ​ Aaron's Inc., formerly Aaron Rents Inc., is an Atlanta-based rent-to-own retailer that has done business in Ohio for more than 20 years, court records show. When the company first applied for workers comp coverage, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation assigned it occupational classifications of 8044 and 8810 for furniture and clerical workers, respectively. Click here to read more:

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) announced July 1 that the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) filed an amended rate filing to address a third legal change affecting Florida’s workers’ compensation system. This amended filing increases NCCI’s initial proposed combined average rate increase from 17.1 percent to 19.6 percent. Click here to read more:

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the state’s 104-week cap on temporary total disability benefits is unconstitutional. ​ Bradley Westphal, who worked as a firefighter and paramedic for the city of St. Petersburg, Florida, sustained compensable injuries to his back and knee in 2009, court records show. He later received back surgery and additional medical treatment for nerve damage in his legs. Click here to read more:

The Florida Supreme Court declared today, June 9th, 2016, the current system for temporary total disability (104 weeks) unconstitutional in this case. The final ruling is attached. Click here to read more:

Florida businesses could soon be paying almost 20 percent more for workers’ compensation coverage. In response to a recent decision from the Florida Supreme Court, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) filed a 17.1 percent rate increase with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) for all new, renewal and additional policies in effect on a “pro-rata” basis. ​ Its the first rate filing from NCCI, which files on behalf of 260 Florida workers’ comp insurers, since the Florida Supreme Court struck a devastating blow to the state’s workers’ compensation system. Click here to read more:

After a Florida Supreme Court ruling last month that struck down a limit on attorney's fees, workers' compensation insurance rates could go up 17.1 percent, according to a proposal submitted Friday to state regulators. ​ ​The National Council on Compensation Insurance, which submits rate proposals for the workers' compensation insurance industry, said the hike should take effect Aug. 1. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation will decide whether to approve the proposal, a process that could lead to a different rate change. Click here to read more:

The Florida Supreme Court recently ruled that the attorney fee provision in Florida's workers' compensation law was unconstitutional because it was not based on a reasonable fee. ​ In Castellanos v. Next Door, the court ruled 5-2 on April 28 that the 2009 statutory amendment to the fee provision, which had removed the term "reasonable," from the statute and which required attorney fee awards to be based solely on a sliding scale of the amount of benefits obtained, violated the due process guarantees of the Florida and Federal Constitutions. Click here to read more:

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s final electronic recordkeeping rule takes a stance against blanket employer policies that mandate post-injury drug testing. The final rule does not ban drug testing of employees, but it does prohibit employers from using drug testing or the threat of testing as a form of adverse action against employees who report injuries or illnesses, according to the final rule, published Wednesday and taking effect on Jan. 1, 2017. Click here to read more:

Talk of a special session to deal with Florida’s workers' compensation insurance appears to be nothing more than that. Last week two high-ranking Republicans in the Florida Cabinet openly asked whether the Legislature needs to hold a special session in the wake of a state Supreme Court ruling tossing out caps on attorney fees. Click here to read more:

Employers are not exempt from federal requirements to record workplace safety injuries and illnesses involving intoxicated workers, even if post-accident testing reveals the employee was drunk at the time of the incident. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently issued an interpretation letter in response to a December 2015 inquiry outlining a scenario in which an employee sustained a hand injury, received treatment and was immediately given a drug test — the results of which indicated the employee was intoxicated by alcohol. Click here to read more:

In the wake of a Florida appellate court ruling, workers compensation professionals in the state are pondering how to fairly compensate attorneys without inviting additional litigation and increasing claim costs. Florida's 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee ruled last week in Martha Miles v. City of Edgewater Police Department et al.that the state's workers comp law violates injured workers' “rights to free speech, free association and petition.” Click here to read more:

The Florida Supreme Court declared today, April 28, 2016, the current system for the provision of attorney's fees' is unconstitutional in this case. The final ruling is attached. Click here to read more: