Changes to attorneys’ fees requests
- The Workers’ Compensation Board has implemented new changes to attorneys’ fee requests.
- The new amendments to the law will now require that claimant attorneys follow a fee schedule:
- Judges, in approving attorney fees, must now consider the amount of the compensation awarded, having due regard for the financial state of the claimant.
- There will be a 60-day grace period for the RB-89 forms, after which the board will begin to exercise its discretion to deny review of appeals and rebuttals
The U.S. already experienced perilous conditions
- OSHA is reminding employers to be aware of weather-based hazards in the dead of winter that can compromise workplace safety.
- Companies must plan, equip, and train their workers for jobs impacted by winter weather in an effort to prevent injuries, illnesses, and fatalities during winter storms.
- The U.S. has already experienced significant winter weather events during 2022-2023, with much of the country having been impacted by heavy snowfalls, icy conditions, arctic cold, and/or brutal winds.
- Extreme weather could continue to increase with each passing season and workers will have to perform their jobs in difficult conditions.
Important for restaurants and taverns to expand coverage
- Restaurants, pubs, and bars require insurance to run and protect their operations, whether it’s for slips and falls or even fights.
- Bars in most states are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance, which makes this one of bar owners’ most popular insurance policies.
- Restaurants and bars should also consider product liability insurance that covers a business if a customer becomes ill after eating your food.
- The right business insurance also can cover a financial calamity, such as a fire that destroys the business.
Company contests OSHA fines
- DA Smith Drilling Co. in Colorado is contesting eight federal citations issued more than a year ago for safety violations, and associated penalties totaling nearly $190,000.
- OSHA fined the company after two workers died in an explosion at an Oklahoma dam in May 2021.
- The two employees were killed when the explosion occurred at the Robert S. Kerr Dam east of Tulsa.
- A third worker with DA Smith Drilling was higher up the shaft and suffered minor injuries.