News Category: Workers’ Compensation Fraud
Misclassifying employees to avoid workers’ compensation is fraud
One of the most rampant kinds of workers' compensation fraud involves employers misclassifying workers as independent contractors so they can avoid carrying workers' compensation insurance for those employees. The Salt Lake Tribute reported on a spike in the number of independent contractors with one employer in Utah, which officials say is a sure sign that the so-called contractors have been misclassified. In the most recent data available, Utah saw a steep one-year jump in the number of independent contractors who have only one employer -- a ...
Read More | No CommentsCalifornia security firm created shell company to avoid workers’ compensation
In what may be one of the most egregious cases of workers' compensation fraud, a California employer created a shell company to avoid workers' compensation premiums for his 1,500 workers. Last week, Ousama Karawia, the owner of International Protective Services Inc., and two company vice presidents pleaded not guilty to charges that they defrauded the California State Compensation Insurance Fund of $9 million. The men are accused of going to extreme measures to deceive the state about the number of people employed by the private security ...
Read More | No CommentsWill economy lead to more employer workers’ comp fraud?
A story out of California has us wondering if the state of the economy and the financial difficulties that many businesses are going through will lead to more workers compensation fraud by employers? Workers' compensation fraud is most commonly perpetrated by employees -- not by injured workers, as is the common perception. Two common tactics -- misclassifying employees job duties, treating employees as independent contractors or failing to carry workers' compensation insurance, as required by law. Misclassification of job duties helps com ...
Read More | No CommentsEmployers and Insurers Responsible for Most Workers’ Comp Fraud
Interesting YouTube discussion involving Leonard Jernigan, Jr., a fellow workers' compensation attorney in North Carolina and chairman of the fraud task force of the Workers' Injury Law and Advocacy Group (WILG). The next time someone tells you they think most people who are collecting workers' compensation are cheating the system, direct them to this video. It might not be as dramatic as a report by John Stossel, but at least it's accurate. Click here to see the video on workers' compensation fraud. ...
Read More | No CommentsThe Real Facts On Workers’ Compensation Fraud
As an attorney who represents injured workers, I get so upset by the widespread public perception that most people who are collecting workers' compensation are "faking it" and somehow defrauding the system. I know that's simply not true. The overwhelming majority of people who apply for workers' compensation benefits are injured and unable to work because of those injuries. But the media and the insurance companies have done a great job conducting smear campaigns that cast injured workers in a bad light. They've subverted the facts with anec ...
Read More | No CommentsNew York Contractors Charged in Workers’ Comp Fraud
Honest workers can sometimes fall prey to dishonest bosses trying to cheat the workers' compensation system, leaving employees vulnerable and without benefits when they're injured on the job. That's what's happening in New York, where some people working as contractors were charged with cheating the system byforging workers' compensation insurance benefits. At the same time, they were failing to provide insurance coverage for their workers who were injured. This workers' compensation case out of Queens, New York isn't just about rest ...
Read More | No CommentsWashington man gets jail time for workers’ compensation scam
Injured people deserve fair and just compensation, especially if their injuries prevent them from working. Unfortunately, not everyone plays by the rules. Willard Leech of Bellingham, Wash., learned that the hard way. He got jail time for illegally collecting workers' compensation for a low-back injury that supposedly prevented him from working. The problem is Leech was working another job while collecting benefits (including climbing ladders and doing roof work). Leech also had a history of workers' compensation fraud, whic ...
Read More | No CommentsVictory for maligned injured worker
It’s a classic case of no good deed goes unpunished. A Bakersfield, Calif., school worker who hurt his shoulder while helping police capture a suspect at a nearby school had his workers' compensation claim rejected. Why? A worker’s comp judge didn’t buy Robert Boyd’s story that he was trying to protect students when he was injured, even though Boyd’s supervisors at the school told him to watch out for suspicious people hanging around the school yard. Further, Boyd had been told he may be called upon to act ...
Read More | No CommentsCalifornia employee gets justice in workers’ compensation fraud case
For any state considering workers' compensation reform, California should be a cautionary tale. After his election, Governor "Arnold" began working to reform the state's WC system, promising that changes would save businesses millions, if not billions, in reduced premiums. But years later, those savings still have not been realized, and the reforms have been devastating for injured workers. The only winners from workers' comp reform in California? The insurance companies. Recently, an injured worker who had been falsely accused of wor ...
Read More | No CommentsCompanies misclassify workers to avoid offering workers’ compensation coverage
The Illinois state government is investigating whether some Illinois construction companies are deliberately misclassifying workers as independent contractors instead of employees. The companies are allegedly boosting their profits by failing to withhold taxes and, more seriously, by shirking their responsibility to carry workers compensation coverage. Employees of these allegedly unscrupulous companies without workers' compensation insurance who are unlucky enough to be injured on the job are the ones who ultimately have ...
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