Texas Nonsubscribers And Responsible Nonsubscription

09/01/2010 -- JURY AWARDS $30.4 MILLION IN WORKER’S POPCORN LUNG LAWSUIT
Safety News Alert - A jury in Chicago has awarded the largest individual verdict in a popcorn lung disease case. The jury awarded $30.4 million to an employee worked in plants that processed diacetyl, a butter flavoring, for about 20 years.

09/01/2010 -- A LOOK AT WORKERS’ COMP TODAY
Claims - Profitability in workers’ compensation is heading downhill rather rapidly," according to Robert P. Hartwig, Ph.D., CPCU, president and economist of the Insurance Information Institute. "We are earning about 40-50 percent less than we were pre-crisis."

09/01/2010 -- DEATHS ON THE JOB CLIMB IN TEXAS
Houston Chronicle - In what may be a dark twist on the lighter blow Texas took during the recession, on-the-job deaths rose in the state in 2009 even as workplace fatalities nationwide dropped 17 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.

09/01/2010 -- THE MOST DANGEROUS JOBS IN AMERICA
New York Times - It may be romantic to make a living as a fisherman, logger or aircraft pilot. But according to a new report that the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued on Thursday, those are the three most dangerous occupations in the United States.

07/25/2010 -- STATE AUDIT FINDS MASSIVE BACKLOG AT WORKERS' COMP
The Texas Tribune - State auditors found muddled chains of command, incomplete or missing files and a massive backlog of cases when they dug into the enforcement process at the Division of Workers' Compensation, according to a report released Thursday.

07/18/2010 -- TXANS AIDES MEMBER EMPLOYEES AFFECTED BY RECESSION
While the impact of the recession has not been as severe in Texas as it has in other states, some employees of TXANS member-businesses have lost their jobs due to prolonged economic uncertainties.

05/10/2010 -- NEW TEXAS EMPLOYER REPORTING REQUIREMENT
During the last legislative session lawmakers passed House Bill 2360 amending the Texas Labor Code to require employers to provide employees with information regarding the earned income tax credit (EITC). More specifically, the Texas Workforce Commission’s EITC rule requires employers that employ at least one person to give every employee ‘information regarding general eligibility requirements for the federal earned income tax credit” no later than March 1 of each year. The EITC rule will likely require employers to utilize IRS Notice 797 to meet notification requirements.

03/06/2010 -- MEDICARE REPORTING REQUIREMENT DEADLINE EXTENDED
The Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act (the Act) applies to employers (both subscribing and nonsubscribing), insurance carriers, third party administrators, attorneys and more. The purpose of the Act and the related Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) rule is to prevent employers, insurers and others from shifting financial responsibility for certain claims to the federal government.

01/31/2010 -- OSHA PROPOSES RECORDKEEPING CHANGE TO INCLUDE MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is proposing to revise its Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting (recordkeeping) regulation by restoring a column on the OSHA Form 300 to better identify work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).

11/03/2009 -- NEW EEOC POSTER
The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) has revised its “Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law” poster to reflect the most current provisions of employment discrimination law, including the 2008 amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act.