Articles Posted in Workers’ Compensation

Our Massachusetts workers’ compensation attorneys have recently learned about a new website that gives the public the ability to check if a business has workers’ compensation insurance. According to the Division of Industrial Accident, over $53 million has been paid out of the Workers’ Compensation Trust Fund in the past decade to pay injury claims of workers who were employed by businesses that did not have workers’ compensation.

The goals on the new online database are to give homeowners the ability to verify that hired contractors have workers’ compensation insurance, allow medical providers to check coverage when treating an injured worker, and let general contractors check that all subcontractors are adequately insured. In addition, state and municipal officials can ensure worker’s compensation compliance with licensing, permitting, and awarding public contracts. The site also helps protect employers from agent and broker fraud because they can ensure their own cover.

In addition to Massachusetts, 36 other states have similar databases.

Massachusetts Allows Public to Verify Workers’ Comp Coverage, InsuranceJournal.com, September 17, 2009
Web Resource
Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents’ (DIA) online Proof of Coverage Verification Application
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A Roxbury man has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against RCN Corp., claiming the broadband company misclassified him and as many as 1,000 other United States installers. According to the lawsuit filed in Boston last week, Fritz Elienberg was employed as an “independent contractor” from 2005 until he was fired in February.

Elienberg claims he and the other “independent contractors” were misclassified so that the company could deny them insurance benefits, overtime, and other benefits. He was also denied compensation to cover medical bills for an injury he sustained on the job.

The lawsuit claims that his employer violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and Massachusetts’ independent contractor and overtime laws. RCN provides cable TV, internet, and phone services in Boston and in 16 other Massachusetts communities. Elienberg’s attorney says that an increasing number of companies are misclassifying workers as independent contractors to avoid paying workers compensation, Social Security taxes, and other expenses.

Man sues RCN for ‘abuse’ of contract workers, Boston Herald, June 2, 2009 Continue reading

In Suffolk Superior Court, a 39-year-old man pled guilty to workers’ compensation fraud, 23 counts of unemployment fraud, and two counts of larceny over $250. Rigoberto Tellez was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $14,398.

Tellez suffered injuries after he fell at work on December 10, 2005. He received workers’ compensation benefits from December 2005 to May 2006, when he was cleared for light duty work following an independent medical examination (IME). His employer offered him work that met the IME’s criteria, but he refused and filed an employee claim through the Department of Industrial Accidents, which ordered his employer’s insurance company to pay Tellez benefits retroactively from June 2006.

At the same time, Tellez filed an Employee Earning Report stating that he was entitled to workers’ compensation and did not have any other income coming in. However, he was also collecting unemployment benefits in addition to workers’ compensation for part of this time.

MA Man Sentenced For Fraudulently Collecting WC Benefits, WorkersCompensation.com, April 15, 2009 Continue reading

IndustryWeek recently compared workers’ compensation costs and benefits across the United States and listed Massachusetts in its top 20 states for workers’ compensation. Massachusetts was the only New England state to appear in the top 20, while several western and Midwestern states made the cut.

IndustryWeek’s rankings included the workers’ compensation premium per worker, based on the Insurance Information Institute, the average benefit payment per capita-total state workforce, among other factors.

According to Deborah Talbot, president and CEO of Health Resources Corporation in Woburn, Massachusetts, the rates, benefits, and awards vary widely according to state, a statement that was consistent with the findings of IndustryWeek’s workers’ compensation analysis.

Workers’ Compensation: Expenses & Awards ARE an Important Consideration for Manufacturers, IndustryWeek, December 9, 208 Continue reading

The Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld a discrimination award to a man who had worked as a firefighter in Hull but says he was not allowed back to work after an injury. Donald A. Gillis injured his neck when he fell off a truck in 1985.

He was 58 when asked for his job back in 1994. Now at 72, Gillis is too old to work as a firefighter per Massachusetts state law. The mandatory retirement age for Massachusetts firefighters is 65.

In 2000, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination awarded Gillis $174,318.75 in lost wages, damages for emotional distress, and legal fees. The town of Hull appealed that decision, which the appeal court upheld earlier this month. A lawyer for the town of Hull said it plans to appeal the judgment again.

Fireman who tried to keep job wins in court; town to appeal, Hull Times, September 11, 2008 Continue reading

In Framingham, Massachusetts a new organization called the MetroWest Immigrant Worker Center has opened its doors on Union Avenue. The local group formed last fall and has been conducting outreach work through local churches attended by immigrants. Director Diego Low says the organization hopes to assist workers in pursuing their rights and navigating Massachusetts’ legal system.

For instance, the employer of a group of local immigrant workers denied the workers their right to workers’ compensation and another refused to pay overtime for extra hours worked. In one case, a worker was severely injured on the job but did not challenge his employer for fear of repercussions. These are the types of cases that the MetroWest Immigrant Worker Center will take on.

The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that about 5% of the United State’s workforce is in the country illegally. Despite what many people believe, illegal workers are still entitled to be paid for their work and any overtime. They are also entitled to workers’ compensation if they are injured on the job.