Legislation support families of Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed five pieces of legislation to provide support to 9/11 victims and survivors and their families.
- The laws will help to remove barriers and delays from Victim Compensation Fund and workers’ compensation claims.
- The legislation establishes a simplified alternative method for Victim Compensation Fund awards, consisting solely of non-economic losses such as emotional damages.
- Currently, under New York’s wrongful death statute, an award issued by the VCF is treated the same as any action for wrongful act, neglect or default causing the death of a decedent.
Masonry owners charged with fraud
- Massachusettes Attorney General Maura Healey said a Martha’s Vineyard man has been indicted in connection with a workers’ compensation fraud scheme at his business, Rockwell Masonry.
- The AG’s Office alleges that Georgy Pyden stole over $30,000 in Workers’ Compensation Insurance from A.I.M. Mutual Insurance Company (AIM) and the Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Assigned Risk Pool from 2016 to 2020.
- Pyden owns Rockwell Masonry, a residential and commercial masonry company located in Edgartown, Massachusetts. I
- Investigators allege that, for several years, Pyden listed himself as the sole employee of his company, but he hired multiple employees and did not report them in his audit to the insurance carrier.
Corrections center fined more than $80,000
- The Washington Department of Labor & Industries fined the state Department of Corrections $84,400 for failing to follow safety rules.
- The corrections center failed to prevent the spread of disease among workers and inmates at Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen.
- L&I opened an inspection of the facility in response to complaints during a tuberculosis outbreak early this year when the state was experiencing its largest TB outbreak in 20 years.
- L&I inspectors found workers at the Stafford Creek facility had not received initial or annual fit testing for the N-95 respirators designed to protect them from infection.
Oregon workers’ comp costs fall for 10th straight year
- The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services announced that in 2023 Oregon employers, on average, will pay less for workers’ compensation coverage.
- The decline in costs marks 10 years of average decreases in the pure premium rate – the base rate insurers use to determine how much employers must pay for medical costs and lost wages.
- Oregon’s workers’ compensation system includes programs to control costs, maintain good worker benefits, ensure employers carry insurance for their workers, and improve workplace safety and health.
- Employers, on average, will pay 93 cents per $100 of payroll for workers’ compensation costs in 2023, down from 97 cents in 2022, under a proposal by DCBS.