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December 11, 2023 WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that the agency is replacing traditional hard hats used by its employees with more modern safety helmets to protect them better when they are on inspection sites. In 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports head injuries accounted for nearly 6 percent of non-fatal occupational injuries involving days away from work. Almost half of those injuries occurred when workers came in contact with an object or equipment while about 20 percent were caused by slips, trips and falls. Dating back to the 1960s, traditional hard hats protect the top of a worker's head but have minimal side impact protection and also lack chin straps. Without the straps, tradition hard hats can fall off a worker's head if they slip or trip, leaving them unprotected. In addition, traditional hard hats lacked vents and trapped heat inside. On Nov. 22, 2023, OSHA published a Safety and Health Information Bulletin detailing key differences between traditional hard hats and more modern safety helmets and the advancements in design, materials and other features that help protect workers' entire heads better. Today's safety helmets may also offer face shields or goggles to protect against projectiles, dust and chemical splashes. Others offer built-in hearing protection and/or communication systems to enable clear communication in noisy environments. The agency recommends safety helmets be used by people working at construction industry and the oil and gas industry; in high-temperature, specialized work and low-risk environments; performing tasks involving electrical work and working from heights; and when required by regulations or industry standards. OSHA wants employers to make safety and health a core value in their workplaces and is committed to doing the same by leading by example and embracing the evolution of head protection.

The appeal by the FLOIR. Click here to read more:

December 8, 2023 The Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation has released the maximum weekly wage benefit for 2024 and it’s the largest two-year jump in wages in more than four decades. Florida law sets the maximum indemnity benefit for injured workers at 100% of the average weekly wage in the state. The average wage rose from $1,099 in 2021 to $1,260 this year – a 15% increase. That much of an increase has not been since the high-inflation days of 1980, which saw a 20% spike in wages from two years earlier, according to a rate table from the DWC. Read More

November 23, 2023 An Orlando businessman will serve up to 30 months in prison for conspiracy to defraud the US government of $3.5m in tax revenue. Wendel Algarin was found guilty of aiding subcontractors in the evasion of payroll taxes and worker compensation insurance premiums. The Florida resident operated three shell companies that allowed subcontractors to pay their workers “off the books”. He received almost $2m for his role in the scheme, which ran between 2012 and 2019. He used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle, including the purchase of luxury cars. Read More

November 17, 2023 More retail workers were injured in January, not during November and December when many companies take on seasonal employees, according to a report released Friday by comp insurer AmTrust Financial Services Inc. The 2023 Retail Risk Report shows that the number of comp injury claims for every $100,000 of a retailer’s payroll in the U.S. is 25% higher in January than the earlier months leading up to the holiday season. “While one might expect injury rates to soar due to the influx of seasonal workers, there’s a hidden dynamic at play,” Matt Zender, senior vice president, workers compensation product manager at AmTrust, said in a statement. Read More

November 16, 2023 Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Ramon Paz (53, Lakeland) to 33 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $500,731, the proceeds of the wire-fraud conspiracy. Paz had pleaded guilty on February 8, 2023. According to court documents, Paz owned and managed a construction company which purported to supply construction services and labor for construction contractors and subcontractors. In order to comply with Florida law, Paz’s company was required to secure and maintain adequate worker’s compensation insurance coverage. Paz’s company had agreements with contractors and subcontractors to use workers purported to be Paz’s employees at construction sites, and these workers were often undocumented aliens who were actually working for and under the daily supervision and direction of the contractors. Paz or others would then regularly receive “payroll checks” from contractors that were cashed at various financial institutions to pay Paz’s purported “employees” and other related expenses. During the time period charged, Paz falsely and fraudulently represented in insurance applications that his company had a very limited payroll and a very limited number of employees who worked on construction jobsites. Paz also falsely and fraudulently sent wire communications to numerous contractors representing that his company’s “employees” had full worker’s compensation coverage. Read more

November 14, 2023 Businesses in Florida will pay an average of 15.1% less in workers compensation insurance rates starting Jan. 1, 2024, Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky announced on Monday. Based on a rate filing by the National Council on Compensation Insurance, this is the seventh consecutive year of reduced rates for businesses, according to a statement issued by Mr. Yaworsky. According to written testimony by NCCI officials, much of the decrease — 13.6% — is the result of loss experience, trends and benefits paid to injured workers in 2020 and 2021.

November 10, 2023 In areas hit hard by Hurricane Ian, signs popped up all across the region warning that it was against the law to do contracting work without a license. But some ignored those warnings, selling their services as plumbers, electricians or construction experts without a license. Since August, three Southwest Florida residents have been the subject of four complaints by the state's Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) for performing construction work in Lee and Collier counties without a license. At least two of the men misrepresented someone else's license as their own to the customers. Read more