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The AFL-CIO is calling on the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to create an emergency temporary standard to protect workers from the potential coronavirus pandemic and future infectious agents. The Washington-based AFL-CIO, which represents union workers nationwide, issued a statement Friday warning of the potential for a deadly pandemic. It said current estimates show that more than 19 million…

Workplace injuries often can lead to mental health issues, including opioid use and even suicide, experts said during a panel discussion Friday at the Workers Compensation Research Institute’s 36th Annual Issues & Research Conference. To help workers better cope after an injury, they recommend mental health interventions and “warm handoffs” to employee assistance programs. “People who were injured at work…

The Indiana House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation Tuesday to modify several workers compensation timelines. S.B. 269, which also unanimously passed the Senate in late January, would require workers compensation insurer or the employer of the injured worker to file report of payment of compensation for claims with the state’s workers compensation board within 14 days. Current law allows for…

Workers compensation pays more than group health to treat comparable injuries, according to a new study comparing costs for treating various injuries in 27 states. The Boca Raton, Florida-based National Council on Workers Compensation analyzed data on 12 different common workers compensation medical conditions going back 10 years and compared the prices and quantity of care with the same injuries…

As a growing number of plaintiffs’ lawyers use an Illinois biometrics privacy law to target Illinois employers with potentially crippling class actions, a state appellate court will soon weigh in on whether the state's workers' compensation law can be used to punch out the widening field of lawsuits. A decision on the question could have potentially huge ramifications for the…

Lawmakers in Illinois are considering workers compensation legislation that would provide workers compensation to first responders suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. H.B. 5569 was sent to the rules committee on Tuesday and would amend the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act and the Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act and apply to firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics. Lawmakers on Tuesday also introduced H.B.…