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Businesses are urging U.S. lawmakers to shield companies from what they fear could be a flood of lawsuits by workers and consumers blaming employers for exposing them to the new coronavirus. But so far, court records show few such cases have been filed and some legal experts say the threat of liability is exaggerated because of the difficulty of proving…

Some employees diagnosed with COVID-19 will automatically qualify for worker's comp, regardless of how they contracted the virus. UPDATE: On April 23, a judge in Sangamon County, Illinois issued a Temporary Restraining Order blocking the Workers’ Compensation Commission’s Emergency Rule from going into effect. On April 27, the Commission filed notice that it will formally withdraw the emergency rule that…

The National Council for Compensation Insurance on Friday launched an online tool designed to help states and employers calculate the impact COVID-19 could have on workers compensation. The tool allows users to adjust variables such as job classifications and infection rates to model the potential impact on expected losses for a jurisdiction and workforce, according to Boca Raton, Florida-based NCCI.…

The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission on Monday repealed a controversial emergency rule stating that if front-line workers are infected with COVID-19, it would be presumed to be a result of their work duties. A Sangamon County judge last week issued a temporary restraining order blocking the new rule, which would have granted benefits to workers deemed essential who contracted the…