Workers Warned About Fraudulent Hearing Scheme
- The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development is warning the public about a multi-state fraud scheme that tricks injured workers, primarily Spanish-speaking individuals, into believing they’re participating in legitimate workers’ compensation legal proceedings through fake agencies with names like the “Workers’ Compensation Board” and emails from domains such as “@workcompcourt.org.”
- Victims are directed to attend fake online workers’ compensation hearings via platforms like WhatsApp, Zoom, or Teams, complete with actors posing as a judge, bailiff and attorneys, and are ultimately told they must pay fees to finalize an award they’ve supposedly won.
- The DWD notes that the actual Wisconsin Worker’s Compensation Division only schedules hearings through written letters, that all attorneys handling Wisconsin workers’ comp cases must be licensed in the state, and that legitimate DWD correspondence will always list Wisconsin area codes.
New York Workers’ Comp Premiums to Drop by 22%
- New York’s average employer will see workers’ compensation insurance premium rates drop 22% starting Oct. 1, following approval from the Department of Financial Services last week, a change expected to save policyholders an average of $1,779.
- The rate is calculated by dividing the total insurer annual claims and claims adjusting expenses estimated by the Workers’ Compensation Board by the total estimated statewide premium. Insurers are required to apply the assessment rate to their premium or premium equivalent.
- Assemblymember Harry Bronson (D-Rochester), chair of the Assembly’s Labor Committee, credited workplace safety measures and more flexible working conditions for helping reduce costs, particularly benefiting small businesses.
- Bronson said that speeding up benefit payments to injured workers is an ongoing priority, adding that improvements had already been made to the claims submission process.