Category
Workers Compensation
Are THC-Infused Beverages Legal? What HR Needs to Know
THC-infused beverages, such as those from brands like Brez and High Rise, have surged in popularity as convenient, discreet alternatives to traditional cannabis consumption. These are hemp-derived products, and they contain delta-9 THC (short for tetrahydrocannabinol) or similar compounds in low concentrations, take advantage of the 2018 federal Fa...
Can an Employee on Workers’ Comp be Permanently Replaced?
For small business owners in Florida, a workplace injury can be a double blow. First, you genuinely care about your employee’s health and recovery. Second, you still have a business to run and customers to service. When an employee is out of work recovering from a work-related injury, their daily tasks don’t disappear. Some employees......
Identifying and Preventing Workers’ Comp Fraud at your Company
A properly working workers’ compensation program protects both employees and employers. It ensures that individuals who are genuinely injured on the job receive the care and support they need, while also safeguarding the organization from misuse. To maintain this balance, it’s important for employers to stay aware of patterns that experts say m...
Florida Employers Have a New Independent Contractor Test in late 2025
The recent Eleventh Circuit decision in Galarza v. One Call Claims, LLC marks a significant shift in how employers in Alabama, Florida and Georgia should assess whether workers are properly classified as independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In that case, a group of insurance adjusters who had been deemed independent co...
Florida Work Comp Rates Heading Down in 2026 – 6.9% Cut Recommended
The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) is recommending that the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation reduce workers’ compensation rates by an average of 6.9%, starting Jan. 1, 2026. NCCI is the nation’s most comprehensive source for workers’ compensation data, insights and solutions. It is a licensed rating organi...
No Work Comp Immunity for Workplace Shooting
Workplace shootings create unique risks to Florida employers. Is a co-worker shooting incident covered by workers’ compensation benefits, or not? A recent case (Bottling Group v. Bastien) has wide implications for Florida employers. The court ruled that an employer cannot deny a workers’ compensation claim on the grounds that a shooting inj...
Employee Who Allowed Manager to “Pop” His Back, Denied Work Comp Benefits
An employee at a Florida Waffle House was having back complaints after working an 18 hour shift. Based on the complaints, the employer’s manager thought that “popping” (manipulating) his back might relieve some of his pain. The “popping” did not go well, and he was unable to stand up straight and had nerve pains runnin...
2024 Florida Workers’ Compensation Rates Decrease 15.1%
Effective January 1, 2024, Florida employers will receive another overall workers’ compensation rate decrease – 15.1%. In late 2023, after recommendations from the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), the Florida Insurance Commissioner issued a final order reducing rates in Florida. This is the seventh consecutive annual d...
Asphalt Company Wins Work Comp Case – 5 Tips You Can Use
A Florida asphalt contractor recently benefited from having effective human resource policies. It avoided paying disability benefits to an injured employee (his skid steer loader was hit by a dump truck) that refused to return to suitable work. In Florida, an injured employee is entitled to Temporary Partial Disability benefits (hereinafter TPD...
Terminating an Employee for Misconduct While They Receive Florida Workers’ Comp
We were recently asked by a client about whether or not an employee on workers’ compensation can be terminated for misconduct. I said yes, but explained that to cut off workers’ compensation benefits the “misconduct” must meet a special definition. An employee with a workplace injury is expected to follow company policy and co...
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