Employment slowdown won’t affect workers’ comp wages

• Despite a slowdown in job growth in 2023, wage growth will likely continue to drive workers’ comp payroll growth throughout 2024, according to a new National Council on Compensation Insurance briefing.
• Employment gains slowed in 2023 from 2022; however overall payroll gains, a key metric for workers’ compensation, remained robust,” the quarterly economics briefing said.
• The 2023 labor market looks solid when compared to pre-pandemic growth trends, and it appears much more ‘normal’ than the past few years.”
• While wage growth has slowed from its peak, it remains solidly above pre-pandemic growth rates and is positioned to remain elevated in 2024.
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Injured worker sues company

• A worker injured in the December 2022 C6-Zero plant explosion in Marengo, Iowa, has filed a lawsuit against the company, citing negligence in several areas that led to the explosion.
• The worker, Cody Blasberg, sued the company for failing to maintain machinery, failing to ensure a working sprinkler system, and failing to provide proper employee training.
• The suit also states Blasberg was tasked with fixing a conveyor belt on a machine on the day of the explosion. When he opened the hatch of the sealed machine, it ignited and resulted in an explosion.
• Blasberg is seeking damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, and more.
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Pa. court rejects Red-Book pricing

• The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court is pushing back against calculating pharmaceutical costs in workers’ comp cases, challenging the long-standing use of Red Book values to determine the average wholesale price of drugs.
• Federated Insurance Co. wanted a review of an order from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation that required the insurer to pay Summit Pharmacy about $72,500 to reimburse the cost of generic drugs provided to a claimant for her work-related injuries.
• The hearing officer used the Red Book values to calculate this reimbursement amount, a practice adopted by the Bureau for resolving disputes over pharmaceutical costs.
• The insurer argued that the Bureau’s use of Red Book values was inconsistent with Pennsylvania’s Workers’ Compensation Act, which limits the reimbursement of pharmaceuticals to 110% of the average wholesale price.
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Wyoming considers cancer bill for firefighters

• Lawmakers in Wyoming have proposed a bill that would permit firefighters to undergo annual cancer screenings under the workers’ compensation system.
• The measure presumes that all career firefighters have been exposed to cancer-causing agents during the course and scope of their employment.
• Exposures would be considered work-related injuries for which cancer screenings must be provided as a workers’ compensation award under the provisions of this act.
• Screenings would continue for no more than 10 years after the retirement of a firefighter.
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