Ohio Supreme Court Ruling Favors Employers on TTD Benefits

• The Ohio Supreme Court ruled last week in a case that could be of interest to those with any pending cases/claims where the claimant is requesting a new period of temporary total disability after he or she was not actually working (quit/fired) at the time their new period of requested compensation begins.
• The ruling in the AutoZone case may help employers defend the requested period of compensation, according to lawyers at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease.
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Wisconsin Gets Federal Funding to Support Workers Affected by Opioid Crisis

• The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development will get $4.3 million from the US Labor Department to assist communities hurt by the ongoing opioid crisis. 
• The National Health Emergency Dislocated Worker Grant program seeks to create disaster-relief positions and provide training for roles addressing addiction treatment, mental health services and pain management. 
• The funding comes as opioid overdoses reportedly account for more deaths in the state than car crashes.
• The funding also supports programs to help individuals reintegrate into the workforce or transition into fields that combat opioid addiction’s effects.
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Florida Roofers to Pay More Than $3M in Federal WC Fraud

• Two Florida men who have operated a roofing business in Jacksonville under several different names have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit tax fraud related to the company.
• Travis Morgan Slaughter and Tripp Charles Slaughter each face a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison for the tax fraud offense and up to 20 years’ imprisonment for the mail and wire fraud offense. 
• Their crimes include instances of fraud related to unpaid workers’ compensation insurance premiums and paid workers’ compensation claims.
• Their professional employer organization secured workers’ compensation insurance coverage for the company. The premiums charged by the workers’ compensation insurers were based on the total amount of payroll that the company reported to the PEOs. If the company had reported the actual amount of payroll, the insurers would have charged additional premiums totaling $2,780,947.
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AM Best Upgrades Credit Ratings of Texas Mutual Insurance

• AM Best has upgraded the credit ratings of Texas Mutual Insurance Company, lifting its Financial Strength Rating to A+ (Superior) from A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to “aa-” (Superior) from “a+” (Excellent).
• The outlook of these credit ratings has been revised to stable from positive.
• The ratings agency said the upgrades reflect Texas Mutual’s strong market presence in the Texas workers’ compensation segment, which has resulted in a history of favorable operating performance and organic surplus growth. 
• The carrier has 41.4% of the state’s workers’ compensation market and is ranked the 16th largest workers’ compensation writer by direct premiums written in the United States as of 2023.
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Washington State WC Costs to Rise by 3.8%

• The average cost of workers’ compensation in Washington state will increase by 3.8% effective Jan. 1, according to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. 
• On average, employers and workers will pay about an additional dollar per week for each full-time position. Workers will continue to cover about 25% of the premium, as they did last year.
• “This modest change helps us cover the higher costs of crucial wage and medical benefits for workers, while keeping rates steady and predictable,” said agency director Joel Sacks.
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