Missouri firm sees benefits of private insurance
- Missouri Employers Mutual, the largest workers’ compensation insurer in the state, wants to be removed from state control.
- A Missouri House committee heard testimony about the company becoming a private firm.
- Chief Executive Officer Jim Owen testified that policyholders would likely be able to offer lower premiums.
- Missouri Employers Mutual also would be more competitive providing coverage to employers with operations outside the state.
Staffing agencies must be cognizant of workers’ comp
- Staffing agencies must be up to speed with workers’ compensation guidelines for their clients.
- Understanding and complying with the applicable laws is essential for staffing agencies.
- Firms must ensure that they are monitoring their workers’ compensation policies on a regular basis.
- Agencies should keep accurate records of any claims and disputes.
Access to ‘vocational rehabilitation;
- The Washington Department of Labor and Industries can provide workers’ compensation vocational rehabilitation services.
- L&I must provide these L&I claim benefits to workers when they meet certain conditions.
- Whenever a work injury claimant has a permanent partial disability, L&I must give a permanent partial disability award.
- If workers are unable to return to work, nothing mandates L&I to provide vocational rehabilitation services.
Disturbing trend with blocked exits
- OSHA has found that Dollar Tree, one of the nation’s largest retail discount chains, has blocked exit routes and boxes to be stacked unsafely at various stores.
- Since 2017, federal and state OSHA programs identified more than 300 violations in more than 500 inspections at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores operated by Dollar Tree Inc..
- Blocked exit routes, unsafe working areas, and unsafely stacked boxes and merchandise are all-too-commonly found by workplace safety inspectors.
- The agency issued citations for three repeat violations and proposed $171,886 in penalties for the company’s latest workplace safety failures.