Five Things You Need to Know: 2/20, Monday Edition

1) A Game of Chess with the IL Workers’ Compensation System (NEWS)

There are two sides to a story unless… there are not?! The present fiscal crisis and possible government shutdown in Illinois has workers’ compensation experts saying the issue is simply fake news based on inflated egos. Reporting on the threat of a government shutdown for a few weeks, the Keefe, Campbell, Beiry and Associates, LLC blog, penned from the firm of the same name, recently updated their KCBA Blog “Grand Bargain Remains Stalled.” “A six-month ‘stopgap’ state budget was approved last summer but expired on Jan. 1, 2017. With less than two weeks away (until a potential shutdown), it is still a waiting game since IL Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a request to halt payment to all Illinois state workers' salaries until Gov. Bruce Rauner and the legislator fix finances that have caused an 18-month budget impasse,” reads the blog. To read more, click here.

2) Remote Liability (NEWS)

According to a 2015 Gallup Poll, 37% of workers telecommute at least occasionally. This number will almost certainly continue to grow as more and more companies realize the benefits remote workers can provide. From a workers’ compensation perspective, there are some potential pitfalls that employers need to know. To read more, click here.

3) OH BWC Secures 13 Fraud Convictions in January (NEWS)

BWC is owed more than $66,000 in restitution from claimants and employers who were convicted and sentenced in January on fraud-related charges. That total will likely grow, as three of the 13 claimants convicted last month still await sentencing. “Workers’ comp cheats raise the costs for everyone else in the system,” said BWC Administrator/CEO Sarah Morrison. “The money we recoup from these cases will go where it rightfully belongs — caring for those who are legitimately injured on the job and creating safe workplaces across Ohio.” To read more, click here.

4) CA DIR and Division of Workers' Compensation Suspend 7 Providers for Fraud (NEWS)

The Department of Industrial Relations and its Division of Workers’ Compensation today announced it has suspended seven medical providers from participating in California’s workers’ compensation system. The providers have been convicted of workers’ comp fraud or have been suspended from the Medicare or Medicaid programs for medical fraud. The suspended providers have filed more than 8,500 liens in California’s workers’ compensation system, with a total of claim value of at least $59 million. To read more, click here.

5) Study of Large Companies Finds Nearly All Workers at Risk of Stroke, Heart Disease (NEWS)

Health experts are calling for more research-based workplace wellness programs after a recent study showed that nearly all workers at 20 large companies face a heightened risk of heart disease and stroke due to high blood pressure, unhealthy diet, obesity and other risk factors. For the study, conducted by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Truven Health Analytics and the American Heart Association, nearly 375,000 workers from 20 large employers voluntarily filled out health assessments from AHA’s Workplace Health Achievement Index. The index is designed to analyze how employers support their workers’ cardiovascular health. To read more, click here.

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