Washington implements new rules for rideshare drivers

• Drivers for rideshare companies like Lyft and Uber are now entitled to paid sick time, workers’ comp, and protection from firms retaliating against drivers who seek those benefits, according to a new law that went into effect in Washington on Jan. 1.
• These drivers also qualify for minimum pay, although rates will differ for trips inside and outside the city of Seattle.
• Drivers will earn at least 66 cents per passenger platform minute and $1.55 per passenger platform mile, or $5.81, whichever is greater.
• Food and goods delivery drivers are not covered by the state’s new rideshare law.
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Georgia man arrested for defrauding Liberty Mutual 

• Jose Martinez, of Grayson, Georgia, was charged with insurance fraud after submitting a self-audit form to Liberty Mutual Insurance Company with his company’s 2016 Corporate Income Tax Return information.
• The documents allegedly contained false information on his company’s profits and employee pay.
• The suspect’s actions defrauded Liberty Mutual of more than $9,250,000 in premiums, which should have been paid for the coverage liabilities received.”
• “The fraudulent activity was done to hide his company’s true worker’s compensation liabilities and as a result receive greatly reduced insurance premiums,” Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King said.
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Court to decide dispute with Publix

• An appeals court will hear arguments over a dispute between Publix supermarket chain and insurers against a state agency and doctors over rules for dispensing medications to injured workers.
• The case involves whether workers’ comp insurers should be required to reimburse physicians who dispense medications to people injured on the job.
• Publix and the insurers say drugs should be dispensed at pharmacies.
• While many physicians dispense medications to other types of patients, the workers’ compensation system gives insurers the power to authorize treatment for injured workers.
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Black car drivers win surcharge fight

• The New York workers’ compensation fund for black car drivers was within its authority to impose a 2.5% surcharge on noncash tips that passengers paid to drivers, a three-justice panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
• The ruling reverses a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that found the surcharge was illegal, certified the claim as a class action, and indicated that $8.5 million should be returned by the injured drivers’ fund to passengers.
• The class action against the New York Black Car Operators’ Injury Compensation Fund was brought by Joseph Kasiotis, a frequent user of black cars, who argued that the fund was not authorized to impose a surcharge on non-cash tips.
• When the district court granted summary judgment to Kasiotis, it held that the fund could only impose a surcharge on the cost that passengers pay for their ride, not on their tips.
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