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The latest workers compensation case accepted by the Florida Supreme Court may pose the biggest challenge yet to the state's exclusive remedy provision. The Florida Supreme Court last month agreed to consider Daniel Stahl v. Hialeah Hospital, which questions whether the state's workers comp system is adequate in light of 2003 reforms that eliminated permanent partial disability benefits. Click here to read more:

Private workers compensation insurers increased reserve funds last year as their aggregate combined ratio fell below 100% for the first time in nearly a decade, but observers remain concerned about the industry's overall loss reserve position. With a calendar-year combined ratio of 98% — improved from 102% in 2013 and 109% in 2012 — 2014 marked the first workers comp underwriting gain since 2006, according to a report released this month by the National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. Click here to read more:

The Florida Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in a case that questions whether the state’s workers compensation system is an adequate exclusive remedy for injured workers. Oral arguments in Daniel Stahl v. Hialeah Hospital will be heard on April 6, the Florida Supreme Court said Friday in a statement. Click here to read more:

A new initiative by U.S. federal agencies to prosecute companies and individuals who endanger the lives of their employees is drawing divergent opinions on its potential impact. The Department of Labor-Department of Justice initiative announced last month is aimed at addressing limits of workplace safety statutes including the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which allows criminal prosecutions only for willful violations resulting in an employee's death, giving advance notice of an OSHA inspection or falsifying documents. But such charges have been limited to misdemeanors with a maximum six-month jail term and $10,000 fine, which legal experts say has discouraged prosecutions. Click here to read more:

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration may have the authority to order employers to abate hazards across all their worksites, even ones it has not inspected for safety and health violations, according to a recent administrative decision that could lead to a significant expansion of the agency's regulatory powers. Click here to read more:

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has ordered a New York trucking company to pay a fired employee more than $45,000 in lost wages, damages and fees after finding he was illegally terminated for notifying regulators of a workplace safety violation. An OSHA investigation found that Meridale, New York-based Brindi Trailer Sales and Services Inc. and owner Robert Urbina Brindi violated the anti-discrimination provisions of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, according to an agency news release issued Thursday. The 1982 legislation protects employees who file complaints about unsafe operation of commercial motor vehicles. Click here to read more:

In ruling that Florida's mandatory cap on attorney fees is unconstitutional, the state Supreme Court has opened the door to higher claims costs, a workers compensation rate increase and additional litigation. In Marvin Castellanos v. Next Door Co. et al., the Florida Supreme Court ruled 5-2 in April that the state's law on attorney fees hinders an injured worker's ability to get legal representation. Click here to read more:

Nearly one-fourth of U.S. workers who were exposed to noise on the job experienced difficulty hearing, according to a study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Occupational hearing loss is one of the most common work-related illnesses in the United States, affecting about 22 million people, NIOSH said in a statement last week. Click here to read more:

Florida's workers compensation insurance may be seeing rate increases in the double digits by August due to the fallout of a recent Florida Supreme Court decision. ​ The National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc., which files rates on behalf of Florida's workers comp insurers and other stakeholders, proposed a 15% rate increase Friday in response to a recent Florida Supreme Court decision deeming it unconstitutional to cap claimant attorney fees. The increase accounts for the potential impact the court ruling could have. Click here to read more:

Oklahoma's Employee Injury Benefit Act, which allows employers to opt out of the state's workers compensation system if they provide alternative benefits for injured employees, is unconstitutional, Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Commission has unanimously ruled. The commission on Friday ruled that provisions of the Oklahoma Employee lnjury Benefit Act are “inoperable,” unconstitutionally depriving injured workers of equal protection and access to the court. Click here to read more:

The owner of a Florida staffing firm has been arrested for allegedly stealing more than $1 million from clients who thought he was providing workers compensation and payroll services, the state's Department of Financial Services said. ​ Ivan Hernandez, the owner of Professional Staffing and Payroll Services, formerly Global Staffing Services L.L.C., in Ft. Myers, Florida, was arrested earlier this month and transported to Lee County Jail for alleged fraudulent conduct, the department said in a Friday statement Click here to read more:

The highest fines employers can face for workplace safety violations will increase by 78%, which will help deter some employers from violating health and safety rules but will not have much impact on the largest employers, according to the head of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. ​ The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, signed by President Barack Obama in November 2015, required all federal agencies with civil monetary penalties covered by the statute, such as OSHA, to update their fines and adjust them going forward to keep up with inflation. Click here to read more: