Hotel and motel industry suffers from a spate of injuries, illness
- The hotel and motel industry experienced 11,320 nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Slips, trips, and falls account for 34.6 percent of workers’ compensation claims, a report by Liberty Mutual said.
- There is also an increased risk for increased exposure to viruses and illnesses from COVID-19 and influenza to MRSA and Monkeypox.
- Hotel operators might consider bringing in a third party to review the hotel’s cleaning procedures and safety equipment and develop best practices to fight injury and illness.
Delaware Met Medical Expense Reduction
- A new report by the WCRI found that the average medical payment per claim (regardless of the claim maturity and claim base decreased about 33 percent between 2014 and 2017 in Delaware.
- In 2014, Delaware passed HB 373, which made changes to the workers’ compensation medical reimbursement system.
- The goals of the reforms were primarily to reduce medical costs, create a workers’ compensation system that is more efficient, and make Delaware an attractive place for businesses.
- Total costs per claim continued to decrease after 2017 following a series of medical fee schedule reductions.
San Jose mayoral candidate faces labor allegations
- San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan’s mayoral campaign could be in jeopardy when another complaint was filed with the state labor commissioner just days after he was at the center of a probe of potential labor law violations.
- Mahan, a freshman council member, is being accused of misclassifying campaign workers as independent contractors.
- An investigation revealed that Mahan’s campaign this year classified 18 campaign workers as consultants working as volunteer coordinators, field directors, communication directors, etc.
- That appears to violate a state law meant to quash efforts to not pay benefits by requiring companies to classify workers as employees instead of independent contractors.
California panel grants Motel 6 employee workers compensation
- A panel of the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board of California assessed permanent disability at 78% instead of 80% because of a computational error.
- A workers’ compensation administrative law judge found that the applicant, while employed as a housekeeper, sustained numerous injuries and opioid-induced endocrinopathy.
- These industrial injuries caused permanent disability of 80%, the judge said.
- However, the workers successfully argued workers’ compensation administrative law judge committed errors in the permanent disability finding due to a computational error.