Congress Enacts Enhanced Veterans Administration Authority Impacting Workers Compensation/Insurance
On September 28, 2016, The US Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) to provide appropriation authority so that the federal government could pay its bills after September 30th. The President is expected to sign the CR. The legislation includes a number of permanent provisions including a provision that prohibits the Veterans Administration from paying for medical services for non-service-connected disabilities [...]
US DOL Briefing to Review State Workers’ Compensation: Recommend Federal Oversight
On October 5th the US Department of Labor in coordination with the National Academy of Social Insurance will release two reports reviewing state workers’ compensation. The Department of Labor’s State Workers’ Compensation Report, which addresses recent trends in state workers’ compensation systems and the effect of these trends on workers, employers, and communities; and The National Academy of Social Insurance’s [...]
WIOA Final Rule include No new employer quarterly wage record reporting – Increased information exchange with Education
On August 19, 2016 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; Joint Rule for Unified and Combined State Plans, Performance Accountability, and the One-Stop System Joint Provisions; Final Rule was released by the US Department of Labor and the US Department of Education. See https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-08-19/pdf/2016-15977.pdf The final rule responds to a number of comments, including comments submitted by UWC that clarification [...]
Florida Supreme Court Decision Removing Attorney Fee Limitation Projected to Increase Workers’ Comp Rates by at Least 15%
The impact of the Florida Supreme Court decision in the Castellanos case http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2016/sc13-2082.pdf finding the statutory limitation on attorney fees to be unconstitutional prompted the NCCI rate fling with an increase of 15% associated with the decision. Most of the overall rate filing increase of 19.6% that would be effective for new and renewal business October 1, 2016 is attributable [...]
US DOL Releases Final Regs on State Agency Drug Testing of UI Applicants
The final DOL regulations defining the circumstances under which UI applicants may be tested for controlled substances as a condition of being paid unemployment were released today. See https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-08-01/pdf/2016-17738.pdf . The final regulations continue a very narrow interpretation of an already narrow statutory provision describing the circumstances under which a state may perform drug tests. The final rules do revise [...]
Colorado Amendment 69 Would Set Up Single Payer System
According to some recent polling in Colorado it appears that Colorado Amendment 69, which would increase employer paid payroll taxes to establish a new state single payer system, has substantial support and it could pass as an initiative in Colorado. In addition to the increased payroll tax that it would impose, passage would raise questions about the impact on the [...]