Audit Penalties Increase, Unpaid Benefits Fall to All-Time Low

Although claim shops throughout California had the lowest amount of unpaid compensation since the Division of Workers’ Compensation started doing annual audits nearly two decades ago, penalty assessments still increased in 2017. The division fined four claims shops that failed the preliminary profile audit review a combined $722,182 in 2017, a 63% increase over the $442,547 in penalties handed out to four shops that failed the PAR in 2016. Total unpaid compensation fell, to $237,186 from $238,502, according to the 2017 Audit Report the DWC published Tuesday. It was the lowest amount of...