Worker avoids eviction as he awaits workers’ comp hearing
- A worker from Guatemala moved to Connecticut on a work visa sponsored by MDF Painting & Power Washing, but falls have landed him in the hospital on multiple occasions.
- Instead of providing worker’s compensation, MDF fired him and tried to send him on a flight back to Guatemala days later and he received an eviction notice from his house in New Haven.
- The Connecticut Superior Court denied the eviction but left the door open for DeFrancesco to evict Becerra and Araña through a different method.
- The man is awaiting his worker’s compensation hearing next week.
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Wisconsin associations want worker’s compensation reform
- Thirty-three labor associations across Wisconsin are urging lawmakers to tackle ever-increasing medical costs in the worker’s compensation system.
- The letter from the Worker’s Compensation Employers Coalition follows a similar letter signed by more than 100 Wisconsin employers, showing momentum for the issue in the state’s business community.
- Wisconsin has among the highest medical costs for worker’s compensation in the nation…35% higher than the national median. The average cost per workers’ compensation claim in Wisconsin is $10,000 higher for health care costs than the average state, the groups said.
- Wisconsin’s costs for professional health services outpace other midwestern states, including Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois, by more than double.
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N.J. businesses target for workers’ comp violations
- The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development added 19 new businesses to its Workplace Accountability in Labor List (The WALL), bringing to 120 the number of employers that have failed to address their outstanding liabilities for violations of wage, benefit , or tax laws.
- The 19 new businesses owe a total of $931,997.12 in penalties for failing to keep workers safe by providing adequate workers’ compensation coverage.
- The 120 businesses posted to The WALL collectively owe $13.5 million – either directly to their workers or for unpaid taxes or contributions.
- All are barred from public contracting with state, county, or local governments until they pay their liabilities in full, and all have had multiple opportunities to pay or appeal their assessment.
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Workers’ comp bill unanimously passed in Washington State House
- A bill that would raise workers’ compensation values in the Stay at Work and Preferred Worker Program in hopes of motivating employers to hire and retain workers who have been injured on the job was unanimously passed by the House.
- Aside from wage reimbursement, employers can receive up to $2,000 for employee training, $1,000 for clothing and up to $5,000 for technology or equipment the transitional job requires.
- This program is funded through Labor and Industries’ Stay at Work account, a premium fund that employees and employers can pay for when they sign up for workers’ compensation insurance.
- The goal of the program is to combat this, encouraging employers to develop light-duty positions and retain workers while they’re recovering from injury.
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