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NCCI Rate Decrease Approved

NCCI Rate Decrease Approved

Insurance Commissioner, Kevin McCarty, accepted the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s (NCCI) revised rate filing and issued an order approving a rate decrease of 6.8% on October 26, 2009.  The Office and NCCI had previously reached an agreement on the amount of the decrease, 6.8%, but the Office took issue with some of the NCCI’s methodology, […]

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President Obama Nominates David Lopez as General Counsel for EEOC

President Obama Nominates David Lopez as General Counsel for EEOC

This past week, the White House announced President Obama’s selection for the EEOC’s General Counsel position:  P. David Lopez.  Mr. Lopez is a seasoned litigator and has served the EEOC for more than 13 years in various capacities.  This year alone, Mr. Lopez appears as counsel of record on more than 10 federal opinions published […]

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Wage And Hour Recovers $560,000 in Back Wages

Wage And Hour Recovers $560,000 in Back Wages

This month, the USDOL Wage and Hour Division announced that it had recovered $560,000 in back wages owed to workers of Stone and Webster Construction Company in Pueblo, Colorado.  That number may seem large, but Wage and Hour has announced similar and larger amounts this year, highlighted by April’s announcement of a 1.7 million dollar back […]

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Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

President Bush signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”) into law on May 21, 2008.  Title II of GINA applies to employers and forbids the use of genetic information in employment.  As most employers are aware, GINA required the EEOC to publish and implement rules to interpret Title II.  Earlier this year, the EEOC published its Notice […]

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EEOC Statistics Show Marked Increase in Charges

EEOC Statistics Show Marked Increase in Charges

The EEOC’s published charge data for fiscal year 2008 shows a significant increase in charge activity.  In 2008, the EEOC received a total of 95,402 charges of unlawful employment practices.  That is the largest amount of charges recorded for any of the last ten fiscal years and a 15% increase in charge activity from last year […]

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Insurance Consumer Advocate to Host Claims Roundtable

Insurance Consumer Advocate to Host Claims Roundtable

Sean Shaw, Florida’s Insurance Consumer Advocate, has scheduled a second roundtable for November 18, 2009, to discuss possible improvements to the insurance claims settlement process.  The Consumer Advocate hosted an initial roundtable on this topic over the summer and invited contractors and insurance claims personnel to discuss issues they have seen in determining the amount […]

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Office of Insurance Regulation to Revise Audit Rule

Office of Insurance Regulation to Revise Audit Rule

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has released draft changes to its audit rule.   The attached document shows substantial changes that the OIR is proposing to being its current rule into conformity with the Model Audit Rule.  The Office of Insurance Regulation held a workshop on October 21, 2009, to discuss the draft changes.  However, […]

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Wage Theft Prevention Act

Wage Theft Prevention Act

A bill moving through the House of Representatives has caught some attention from wary employers.   The “Wage Theft Prevention Act” or H.R. 3303 is described as a measure to ensure that employers do not prolong Wage and Hour investigations with the hope that a statute of limitations would expire on employee claims.  As most employers […]

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Public Adjuster Suits

Public Adjuster Suits

Two lawsuits have been filed seeking declarations that certain provisions of the public adjuster law are unconstitutional.  One suit was filed in Leon County on behalf of Fredrick W. Kortum, Jr. and one was brought in Miami-Dade County on behalf of three adjusting firms.  The lawsuits challenge subsection 626.854(6) and subparagraph 626.854(11)(b)(2), Florida Statutes.  The […]

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Congressional Proposal Would Create Federal Insurance Office

Congressional Proposal Would Create Federal Insurance Office

United States Representative Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania has released a discussion draft of a strike-all amendment to H.R. 2609 that would create the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) as an office in the United States Department of the Treasury.  Kanjorski’s amendment would be referred to as the Federal Insurance Office Act of 2009 and would set […]

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