Drywall firm accused of bilking insurance funds

• Workers’ compensation fraud investigators in Florida arrested a pair of businessmen — Francisco Picado and Lester Picado — for significantly understating their drywall company’s payroll figures to avoid paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance premiums and fees.
• Picado and Picado ran Hialeah-based Superior Drywall. Had they reported accurate numbers, the Picados would have been responsible for a nearly $200,000 workers’ comp premium and more than $162,000 in administrative fees.
• The two defendants had been cashing millions of dollars worth of checks at a local check-cashing store.
• Both men face charges of making false or misleading representations to obtain workers’ compensation benefits and first-degree grand theft.
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Texas enacts workplace violence bill

• Texas employers will be required to post a notice to employees related to reporting instances of workplace violence or suspicious activity beginning September 1, 2023.
• However, enforcement is unlikely until the Texas Workforce Commission issues the prescribed notice.
• The law does not require the Texas Workforce Commission to issue the prescribed notice until March 1, 2024.
• The law will take effect on September 1, 2023, but the Texas Workforce Commission will have until March 1, 2024, to issue the prescribed notice for employers to post.
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Massachusetts manufacturer Riverdale Mills Corp. failed to train workers

• A federal appeals court upheld federal allegations that Massachusetts manufacturer Riverdale Mills Corp. failed to train workers about machine and chemical hazards.
• The judges in an unpublished decision rejected arguments from Riverdale that OSHA’s case was flawed by misinformation from workers and misunderstandings about the machinery.
• Riverdale, based in Northbridge, Mass., manufactures welded wire mesh used in a range of products, from lobster cages to fences.
• The case began in June 2019 when the OSHA launched an inspection after learning from police that a Riverdale employee injured his right arm.
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Virginia releases workers’ comp data

• The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission released its 2022 Annual Report, which provides a summary of key initiatives, trends, and outcomes for the workers’ comp system and other programs.
• There were over 278,000 First Reports of Injury reports filed with 37,842 major workplace injuries reported in 2022.
• The Alternative Dispute Resolution Team conducted approximately 4,000 events.
• Additionally, of the 33,053 claim forms processed, 86% were hearing-level requests resulting in 570 appellate decisions rendered.
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