Statewide reduction in workers ’ compensation insurance rates
NEW HOUSE MEMtBER
The U . S . Department of Labor has issued a final rule announcing adjustments to Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( OSHA ) civil penalty amounts .
TIDBITS
Statewide reduction in workers ’ compensation insurance rates
A 15.1 % statewide reduction in workers ’ compensation insurance rates went into effect Monday with the start of the new year . The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approved the lower rates in November based on favorable loss experience data from 2020 and 2021 , and factors in changes in the medical fee schedule . The drop also accounts for a lower profit and contingency factor . The reduction applies to both new and renewed workers ’ compensation insurance policies in the state . Florida ’ s workers ’ compensation system , a nofault arrangement , provides benefits for workplace injuries and helps prevent workers from suing their employers . The new rate changes will vary for individual businesses
NEW HOUSE MEMtBER
The House welcomed a new member elected earlier this week in a special election . Orlando Democrat Rep . Tom Keen was officially sworn in on the House floor Thursday after winning a special election in House District 35 on Tuesday . Keen defeated Republican candidate Erika Booth , flipping the seat from red to blue . The state House seat was left vacant after former Republican Rep . Fred Hawkins resigned last summer to become president of South Florida State College in Highlands County . HD 35 covers parts of Orange and Osceola counties in Central Florida .
The U . S . Department of Labor has issued a final rule announcing adjustments to Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( OSHA ) civil penalty amounts .
On November 2 , 2015 , the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 was enacted , which required agencies to : ( 1 ) adjust the level of civil monetary penalties with an initial “ catchup ” adjustment through an interim final rule , and ( 2 ) make subsequent annual adjustments for inflation , no later than January 15 of each year .
14 DITCHMEN • JANUARY 2024