COVID-19 creates workers’ compensation conundrum

Implementation by employers of all recommended safety measures including social distancing, increased sanitization and hand hygiene protocols, use of personal protective equipment notwithstanding, the potential of a sharp rise in workers’ compensation claims by employees who contract the COVID-19 infection after returning to the workplace remains. But workers’ comp claims related to COVID-19, while potentially significant, are not the most serious legal issues confronting employers trying to operate during the pandemic or struggling to reopen. Meat + Poultry

Ohio BWC has closed nearly 50 fraud cases in 2020

Total fraud convictions for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has reached 47 for calendar year 2020. They include a Sidney couple who were sentenced on felony charges related to workers’ compensation fraud after an investigation found the husband mowing lawns, using a snowblower and chopping wood while claiming permanent total disability. Sidney Daily News

Ohio governor calls on BWC to send $1.5B in dividend payments

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine says he wants the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to approve sending up to $1.5 billion in dividend payments to employers, and that he plans to ask the BWC board to distribute a second round of face coverings to employers. In April, the BWC dispersed more than $1.3 billion to businesses and $184 million to local taxing districts. Washington Examiner

Virginia county sets aside $237K for claims for COVID

Prince William County, Virginia has set aside over $237,000 to cover workers’ compensation claims from five county employees who say they contracted COVID-19 after being exposed in the workplace. The county’s emergency management coordinator says 40 county employees have tested positive for the virus, with 22 of those being public safety employees and making up the bulk of county employees who have missed work due to COVID-19. Inside Nova