Logger fined $160,000 for faking injures
- A Washington logger who faked injuries to collect workers’ compensation benefits must repay the state more than $160,000.
- James Joseph Thomasson, 53, has also been ordered to serve 60 days in home detention, the maximum length under state sentencing guidelines.
- Thurston County Superior Court Judge Allyson Zipp recently sentenced the Kalama man after he pleaded guilty to second-degree theft, a felony.
- Thomasson, also known as Jim Thomasson, admitted stealing workers’ comp benefits from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) from January 2018 to January 2020. He must repay L&I $163,566.
Proposed workers’ comp law is controversial in N.Y.
A proposed workers’ comp benefits change in New York is a financial burden for businesses and would undercut reforms made a few years ago, opponents sat.
Supporters claim the change would protect injured workers’ finances in their time of need.
The bill defines temporary total disability as an injured employee’s ability to perform their pre-injury employment duties.
The law would allow partially disabled workers to collect full benefits – typically two-thirds of a worker’s average weekly wage – while injured, unless an employer provides an alternative, light-duty work.
Logistics broker suing Liberty Mutual
- Virnich Corp., a logistics broker company near Chicago, filed a lawsuit against Liberty Mutual, claiming the insurer for alleged overcharging for workers’ compensation insurance
- The suit also claims Liberty Mutual takes into account independent contractors, who are ineligible for workers comp, as employees.
- Virnich is a broker for truckers, using “an open bidding process” to help arrange for shippers to find truck drivers willing to make deliveries. Virnich is then paid by the shippers after the deliveries have been made, and Virnich, in turn, pays the truckers.
- Liberty Mutual allegedly audited Virnich’s payroll records in 2020, and claimed the company should owe $312,350 in workers’ comp insurance premiums.
W.V. workers’ comp rates drop for 8th straight year
- The National Council on Compensation Insurance, West Virginia’s rating and statistical agent, has filed a proposed workers’ compensation loss cost decrease of 7.2%, effective Nov. 1, 2022.
- This premium reduction results in a projected $14 million in savings to West Virginia employers.
- “This is just more great economic news in West Virginia,” Gov. Jim Justice said. “Not only does this money represent enormous savings for businesses across the state, but it will also allow these very businesses to use the money to reinvest in our economy.
- Since the workers’ compensation program was privatized in 2006, the market has experienced approximately $446 million in premium savings.
- This latest filing represents the 18th consecutive year of loss cost decreases and accounts for a cumulative 81.3% reduction from pre-reform workers’ compensation levels.