CA - Administration Explains SIBTF Reforms to Lawmakers
04/24/2026 | 0
Second-injury fund reforms must apply to the backlog of about 30,000 unresolved claims to preserve the program and tackle skyrocketing costs, administration officials told California lawmakers Thursday.
Jaskiran “Jassy” Grewal, deputy secretary of legislation with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, told a Senate budget subcommittee that imposing tighter eligibility standards on pending Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund claims is a critical provision of Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed reforms.
"This provision is necessary to reduce liabilities and ensure l...
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The Minnesota Supreme Court upheld a determination that a worker’s injuries from a fall while packing employer-owned equipment into her car to return to in-person work were compensable.
Case: Ludwig v. Dakota County, No. A24-1989, 04/22/2026, published.
Facts: Dakota County hired Cindy Ludwig in 2002 to perform full-time clerical and customer service duties out of its Hastings office.
Ludwig’s commute to Hastings was half an hour, so she typically left home around 7:30 a.m. to begin work by 8 a.m. The county owned all the equipment Ludwig used at the office.
In March 2020...
The Delaware Supreme Court ruled that a worker’s alleged report of a mental health injury before his termination was not enough to constitute a viable claim for workers’ compensation retaliation.
Case: Redic v. Interfaith Community Housing of Delaware Inc., No. 347, 2025, 04/22/2026, published.
Facts: Jewel Redic worked for Interfaith Community Housing of Delaware Inc., a non-profit organization that assists low-income families.
Interfaith’s offices are in a dangerous, high-crime area of Wilmington.
Interfaith also maintains a policy under which all new hires are subject ...
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that the operator of a youth residential institution qualified as the statutory employer of a contractor’s injured employee.
Case: Edie v. George Junior Republic in Pennsylvania, No. 546 C.D. 2025, 03/27/2026, published.
Facts: George Junior Republic in Pennsylvania operates a youth residential institution in Grove City. GJRP contracted with Metz Culinary Management to provide food service at its facility.
Mark Edie worked for Metz. While he was at the facility, a grill fell on him, causing injuries.
Procedural history: Edie file...
The Buddha reportedly said, “Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”
There are only a couple of problems with this. First, although I found it on the internet (so it must be correct, right?), further research confirms this attribution cannot be authenticated. Second, there is — sadly — much evidence to contradict Buddha’s (or whoever’s) assertion.
For example, there is no credible, ABA-backed study estimating the extent to which perjury and fraud soil our legal system. However, anyone who has worked in the workers&rs...
A New York appellate court upheld the denial of summary judgment on a worker’s Labor Law action for his alleged injuries from a fall from a scaffold.
Case: Fuczynski v. 144 Division LLC, No. 2023-04222, 04/01/2026, published.
Facts: Antoni Fuczynski allegedly suffered injuries while performing construction work on a commercial renovation project at a building owned by 144 Division LLC.
According to Fuczynski, he was an employee of First Quality Group Inc., and on March 7, 2016, he was installing drywall and sound insulation at Division’s property.
He claimed that while disconne...
Widespread misconduct, fraud and abuse among New York state correctional workers "continues to plague the system," according to a 2025 annual report released by the Workers' Compensation Fraud Inspector General.
The report, released Tuesday, found that Department of Corrections and Community Supervision workers accounted for six of the 14 people arrested for alleged claimant fraud last year. The report attributes the ongoing problem to the state's failure to modify a provision in union contracts allowing six months of full pay upon the occurrence of an occupational injury.
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A pair of California legislative committees passed bills that would require employers to allow workers to schedule treatment for industrial injuries during the workday, and require staffing agencies to provide proof of workers' compensation as part of a new registration process.
The Assembly Insurance Committee on Wednesday passed AB 2098, by Assemblymember Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, which would require employers to provide time off when an injured worker's reasonable effort to schedule treatment outside of work hours is not successful.
The bill would allow employers to deny a reques...
The Assembly Insurance Committee on Wednesday advanced a bill to overhaul the state's second-injury fund, opting to move a measure the governor has already vetoed as a counterweight to reforms the administration is pursuing through a budget trailer bill.
While lobbyists for employers championed the governor's plan as the best way to address nearly a decade of rapidly escalating costs, supporters of AB 1576 said their bill includes a series of smaller changes to control rising Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund costs without gutting the program.
AB 1576, by Assemblymember Li...
An Ohio appellate court ruled that the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s method of distributing premium rebates does not violate principles of equal protection.
Case: CPC Parts Delivery LLC v. BWC, No. 25AP-403, Mahle Behr Dayton LLC v. BWC, Nos. 25AP-406 and 25AP-408, 03/26/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: CPC Parts Delivery LLC and Mahle Behr Dayton LLC separately filed claims against the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, challenging its method of calculating premium rebates issued to certain employers participating in the BWC Fund for the policy years e...
A New York appellate court upheld the summary dismissal of a worker’s Labor Law claims for his injuries from falling into a trench.
Case: Estrella v. BMG Monroe I LLC, No. 2024-07375, 04/01/2026, published.
Facts: BMG Monroe I LLC hired Verticon II LLC to serve as the general contractor for a construction project at a property owned by BMG.
Verticon subcontracted the framing work to Upstate Framing Inc., which further subcontracted the work to Plaza Construction.
Manuel Antonio Estrella worked for Plaza as part of a crew installing plywood floors in a house as part of the BMG project...
The Mississippi Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a plumbing foreman did not suffer a compensable shoulder injury.
Case: Smith v. Dennis Wright & Son Plumbing, No. 2025-WC-00046-COA, 03/31/2026, published.
Facts: Benjamin Smith worked for Dennis Wright & Son Plumbing as a foreman. He suffered injuries at work in February 2020 when the trencher he was operating struck a root and threw him to the ground.
Smith initially sought treatment from Mary Martin, a chiropractor. He reported pain in his back and neck.
Smith eventually sought treatment from other medical and chi...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a worker’s request to expand the scope of her claim and to receive additional treatment.
Case: Bolen v. Raleigh County Board of Education, No. 25-ICA-312, 04/07/2026, published.
Facts: Deborah Bolen worked for the Raleigh County Board of Education. She filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting that she injured her lower back in September 2023 while lifting a stroller.
Before this incident, Bolen had claims relating to back injuries and received treatment for degenerative back issues.
Physician assista...
NY - Bill Would Exclude Unpaid Student Interns From Comp
Legislation introduced Tuesday in the New York Senate would amend state law to exclude unpaid student interns from workers' compensation coverage.
S. 9998 proposes revising the New York Workers’ Compensation Law to clarify that unpaid student interns “shall not be deemed to be employed or engaged in employment” under the statute, effectively removing them from mandatory workers' compensation protections.
The legislation defines a student intern as an individual enrolled in an educational program at a public or private secondary school, charter school or bo...
Colorado lawmakers are proposing a process for employers and licensed insurance producers to update an experience modification factor when actual payments on a closed claim are lower than the loss reserves previously reported by the carrier.
SB 175, introduced Tuesday, would give employers and producers a limited right to request a correction between the time a claim is reported to a rating bureau and 31 days after the employer's effective rating date.
Changes to an experience modification factor could be requested only when actual paid costs are lower than the reported estimated costs, ...
A California appeals court ruled that workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy for an injured worker's claim that a third-party administrator, claims handler and a doctor conspired to improperly characterize the nature of her injuries and need for ongoing treatment or work accommodations.
"If the alleged acts are a normal part of, or collateral to, the workers' compensation process, and the motive behind the acts does not violate a fundamental policy of the state, the cause of action is barred," the 4th District Court of Appeal said in an unpublished decision handed...
