For the longest time, injured workers in Florida were basically at the mercy of the whims of employers to treat them fairly. A 2003 law aimed at reducing the cost of workers’ compensation coverage for businesses had the desired impact, but it also discouraged attorneys from getting involved in workers’ comp cases and resulted in a drop in the number of claims. Then the Florida Supreme Court ruled in two 2016 cases on behalf of workers’ rights, causing the pendulum to swing back in the direction of employees and resulting in significant rate increases for employers. The Florida Legislature is again proposing reforms, but it needs a more prudent and equitable approach. Click to read more:

Florida employees who use fake IDs and identities no longer would face a felony workers' comp fraud charge and would receive benefits under a proposal lawmakers are considering that would benefit unauthorized immigrants. The current workers' compensation law in Florida, passed in 2003, makes it a crime for undocumented immigrants to apply for a job or benefits using false identifying information such as Social Security numbers. Click to read more:

An investigation by NPR and ProPublica found out that over 560 undocumented workers in Florida who had not even filed for workers' compensation claims were charged with fraud. Lawmakers in the U.S. are pushing for a new bill aimed at curbing undocumented workers' exploitation by employers and insurance companies. Click to read more:

One of the biggest impacts on the cost of your workers’ compensation program is your experience modification factor. This item is calculated each year by the National Council on Compensation insurance for all insureds within the State of Florida. To offer out a very simplistic explanation, it is calculated based on your premium history along with your expected and actual (total incurred) losses. It is important for you to understand that your total incurred losses include paid claims and reserves, as of the time of the data transmission, which is approximately six months prior to your renewal date. If your claims are over-reserved at that time, this can lead to a higher than necessary experience rating factor. Since your final premium is determined by multiplying the base premium by the experience rating factor, this can result in an unnecessary increased cost to you next year. WCA will contact you when a claim first occurs to find out in your words exactly what happened. We will also listen to any concerns you have and answer any questions. We will relay this information to the adjuster and then stay in regular contact with the adjuster to make sure the claim is running smoothly. We will also contact you when issues become present or have questions or concerns. We encourage you to stay in touch with our office as well. We will work closely with the adjuster to make sure that claims are closed as quickly as possible and reserves are kept at a minimum at all times. This way, when the NCCI inserts your payroll, premium, classifications, and claim information into the formula to compare your company to your industry in Florida, your experience rating is an accurate recollection of your firms history and claims. NCCI will mail you a letter usually a couple months before your renewal date. Do not throw it out. The letter contains your unique Risk ID and a PIN. With these two numbers, you can download your upcoming experience rating worksheet and review it. While the worksheets can be very confusing, we are more than happy to review it for accuracy and discuss it with you. Here is a link to their Worksheets on Demand Service: Click Here: So much goes into the experience rating. It is difficult to explain it in a short article. Here is the link to the different articles and video's on experience rating: Click here If you have questions, please call us at (561) 500-FLWC (3592). This is one of the many services provided by Work Comp Associates, Inc.

Mac Johnson, 50, of Newberry, Florida, pled guilty yesterday afternoon to tax fraud, wire fraud, structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements, and harboring undocumented aliens. The guilty plea was announced by Christopher P. Canova, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. Johnson, who owns roofing, tree service, and dumpster businesses, devised a scheme to conceal the amount of wages earned by his undocumented alien employees to avoid paying more than $1.7 million in federal income, Medicare, and social security taxes, as well as more than $1 million in Florida worker’s compensation premiums. Johnson concealed the wages from the State of Florida by inaccurately and incompletely identifying all employees, representing that lower wages were paid than the true amounts, and paying by cash or a non-payroll check in amounts of less than $10,000 to avoid reporting requirements. Click to read more:

Insurance companies in the worker’s compensation sector are increasingly interested in adding digital health tools to monitor and assess employees. Travelers insurance reflects this trend with its move to adopt telemedicine services. The idea is to give qualified injured employees an alternative to going to an emergency room and reduce healthcare costs. Click to read more:

Two scathing investigations just revealed that when one of Florida’s 600,000 illegal immigrants gets hurt on the job, his employer generally turns him over to the authorities for deportation. Employers dispose of injured illegal laborers to avoid paying workman’s compensation. No worker deserves to be treated this way. It’s time to fix a broken immigration system that allows corporations to exploit illegal immigrants for their cheap labor while suppressing the wages of citizens and legal residents. Major reforms are needed to protect workers of all backgrounds from such corporate greed. Companies across the Sunshine State have recruited illegal immigrants -- and then dumped them once they became a liability. A new investigation from the Naples Daily News found more than 160 instances since 2004 in which illegal immigrants were charged by law enforcement after sustaining an injury. In almost all of those cases, the worker was turned in by his or her employer or the employer’s insurance company. Click to read more:

A Chapter 11 reorganization plan has been approved for Fort Lauderdale-based Patriot National, but it doesn’t include severance pay for 250 employees of the insurance services firm who found themselves terminated on the day before last Thanksgiving. “We haven’t seen a nickel from Patriot,” said Judy Pidgeon, one of the 250 laid-off workers. The layoffs affected workers at the company’s Fort Lauderdale headquarters and in at least six other divisions across the United States. Click to read more:

Two unlawfully present Honduran nationals were sentenced Wednesday for conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their roles in a scheme that created shell companies to mask the unauthorized employment of workers in the construction industry. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Jacksonville office. Click to read more:

The Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has received the 2019 Florida workers’ compensation rate filing by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), which proposes a statewide average premium decrease of 13.4%. The new rates would become effective January 1, 2019. As always, OIR will review the filing to ensure the proposed changes are not excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory and evaluate its potential effects on the insurance marketplace and employers, who are required by law to carry this insurance on their employees. A public rate hearing will be conducted in October. Click to read more:

A Florida woman was arrested in August and charged with three felony counts of concealing payroll to avoid workers’ compensation premiums and two felony counts of application fraud, according to a statement from the Florida Department of Financial Services. Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis announced on Aug. 31 the arrest of Vanessa Arreguin, 25, owner of V&G Concrete, Inc. for workers’ compensation fraud. Click to read more:

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) urges response crews and residents in the areas affected by Hurricane Michael to be aware of hazards created by flooding, power loss, structural damage, fallen trees, and storm debris. "Employers and employees must be aware and trained to deal with the hazards involved in storm cleanup," said OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt Petermeyer. "The risk of injuries, illnesses, and fatalities can be minimized with knowledge, safe work practices, and appropriate personal protective equipment." Click here to read more: