A $70 difference in an attorney’s maximum hourly rate torpedoed a comprehensive workers’ compensation reform measure making its way through the legislature, as House and Senate lawmakers were unable to compromise further. Both versions extended the benefits period from 104 to 260 weeks, to conform with a Florida Supreme Court decision that declared the current system unconstitutional. In an earlier …

In a move that has no direct effect on injured workers, except to increase the benefits available, the First District Court of Appeal ruled that a 14.5% rate increase, which took effect in December, was legal. The plaintiff claimed that the National Council on Compensation Insurance, which recommends premium payments for workers’ compensation insurance, violated the state’s open meeting law …

The City of Miami Beach says that Zika infection is not a job-related injury and therefore not covered by workers’ compensation. Bobby Jenkins, the head of the police union, says that two officers who lived outside the Zika hot zones but were on patrol inside the zones were recently diagnosed with the disease. In one cases, the City revoked workers’ …

Largely because of two recent court decisions, workers’ compensation premiums in the Sunshine State, which had fallen over 60% since 2003, will go up by 14.5%. Both court decisions involve the 2003 reforms, which had been a boon for businesses while they dramatically affected worker benefits. In Castellanos v. Next Door Company, the Florida Supreme Court invalidated the attorneys’ fee …

Considering that it is a tiny, isolated atoll that is almost exactly in the center of the Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia has a rather colorful history and an important role in global security. The 17-square-mile sand and coral atoll is technically part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, but U.S. forces have been there since 1966, and they will probably …

As the cost involved in raising and maintaining a fighting force in the field has increased exponentially in the last few decades, the number of contractors has increased as well. However, such use is hardly new, as private military contractors have served in key support areas since the Revolutionary War. General George Washington’s army was about 18% contractors, and that …

One of the most comprehensive looks at the industry yet concludes that there will never be another war that does not feature private military contractors in a prominent role. In a broader sense, the rise of military contractors took place in a unique geopolitical environment. Because of the Cold War’s end, there are more international conflicts than ever before and …

At one point during the Iraq War, soldiers at Joint Base Balad, deep inside the infamous Sunni Triangle, burned 200 tons of waste a day in a 10-acre, open-air pit. Soldiers doused human waste, mechanical parts, medical waste, radio batteries, and all the other waste of war with JP-8 jet fuel, which released clouds of benzene gas as it burned. …

A proposed 14.5% workers’ compensation insurance rate increase will remain in effect unless the First District Court of Appeal rules otherwise, according to a recent decision from that body. In November of 2016, a district judge struck down the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s proposed increase because the NCCI did not comply with public hearings requirements and held closed-door meetings …

While business groups look to retake ground they first obtained in 2003, labor groups are gearing up to take advantage of the chance they see to redo the entire system in Florida. In December of 2016, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee began preparations for what will probably be a session-long debate on the subject. Recently, state regulators approved a …

Because of a legal loophole, safety procedures were dangerously inadequate at a Cantonment nitrous oxide plant, and the lax environment led to a chemical explosion that killed one person, according to the Chemical Safety Board. Although there are a number of federal rules and guidelines for hazardous chemical productions, these protocols do not technically apply to nitrous oxide. So, during …

As state senators review a comprehensive workers’ compensation reform law, the traditional pro-business Republican and pro-labor Democrats are lining up on either side. Alarmed after a 14.5% insurance premium increase, Republicans in the House passed a bill that’s designed to “reduce attorney involvement in the system,” according to Rep. Danny Burgess (R-Zephyrhills). The House measure caps attorneys’ fees at $150 …