Salem, OR — Oregon OSHA recently fined Kevista Coffee in Bend $27,470 for violating three standards designed to protect employees from the coronavirus disease. In one of the violations, the company willfully continued to potentially expose workers to the virus, despite a public health order limiting the capacity of indoor dining to zero in an… [Read more]
Work Force & Human Resource News
Tomorrow: Texas Mutual to Host Work Safe, Texas Online Summit
Austin, TX – Texas Mutual Insurance Company recently its first safety summit of 2021. The Work Safe, Texas Online Summit will take place on Thursday, April 1 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. CT. Industry leaders and subject matter experts will discuss how employers can provide mental health support and resources to their employees as well… [Read more]
Former USPS Carrier Sentenced on Federal Charge in MD for Workers’ Comp Fraud
Greenbelt, MD – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis recently sentenced Ronald S. Repass of Poolesville, Maryland, to five years of probation on the federal charge of making false statements or fraud to obtain federal employees’ disability compensation and ordered Repass to pay restitution in the amount of $22,000. Repass admitted that he falsely claimed that… [Read more]
MI State Workgroup to Recommend in-Person Office Work Policies
Lansing, MI – As Michigan ramps up vaccine distribution, more employers and workers are preparing to return to in-person office work in some form. To support this process, the State has established the new Return-to-Office Workgroup consisting of business, labor, and public health experts to provide Gov. Whitmer with concise recommendations that will be used… [Read more]
Former NY Postal Employee Sentenced for Worker’s Compensation Fraud
Binghamton, NY – Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and Matthew Modafferi, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Postal Service-Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Office recently announced that Christine O’Neill of Johnson City, New York, was sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy to serve three (3) years… [Read more]
FL CFO Announces Arrest in $90,000 Workers’ Comp Premium Fraud Scheme
Miami, FL – Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis recently announced the arrest of Pablo Reyes, owner of Lanza Construction Corporation, for workers’ compensation premium fraud and grand theft for allegedly concealing payroll information to avoid paying more than $90,000 in workers’ compensation premiums. CFO Jimmy Patronis said, “Businesses carrying the proper workers’ compensation coverage… [Read more]
ASSP Remembers Deadly Factory Fire that Spurred Workplace Safety
Park Ridge, IL – Occupational safety and health became national news 110 years ago when the deadly Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire occurred in New York City. A few months after the tragedy came the creation of the world’s oldest professional safety organization – the United Association of Casualty Inspectors now known as the American Society… [Read more]
Kids’ Chance of California Now Accepting Applications for 2021-2022
Soquel, CA – Kids’ Chance of California, a non-profit education scholarship provider to the children of California workers that have been fatally or seriously injured on the job, recently announced that it is now accepting applications for the 2021-2022 school year. Scholarship opportunities are available to new students and existing students. Parties interested in applying,… [Read more]
TDI-DWC Helps Feds Close the Door on Multi-Million Dollar Fraud Case
Austin, TX – U.S. District Judge Zack Zouhary recently sentenced the remaining defendants in the Forest Park Medical Center health care fraud bribery scam. It’s the final chapter in what was a $40 million dollar fraud and bribery case that began in 2016 and involved 14 defendants. The defendants involved in the case were sentenced… [Read more]
CA Landscaper Arraigned in Alleged Workers’ Compensation Scam
Riverside, CA – Angel Maces of San Jacinto was recently arraigned for felony insurance fraud after allegedly misrepresenting symptoms following a work-related injury in order to receive over $42,000 in undeserved workers’ compensation benefits. On September 7, 2018, Maces, while working for a Temecula landscaping company, was laying artificial turf at a private residence in… [Read more]