Three Member Panel meeting packet published for 01.04.17

Three Member Panel meeting on January 4, 2017

Meeting packet published

http://www.myfloridacfo.com/Division/WC/pdf/Three-Member-Panel-Meeting-Packet-Jan-4-2017.pdf

Division issues 2016 Results and Accomplishments Report

The Division of Workers' Compensation has issued its 2016 Results and Accomplishments Report.  The Report contains important system information related to lost-time claims and medical costs as well as outcome and performance measures for each of the Division's major program areas.  To view the Report, click here:

http://www.myfloridacfo.com/Division/WC/PublicationsFormsManualsReports/Reports/AnnualReportWC2016.pdf 

Three Member Panel Meeting - January 4, 2017

The Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Workers' Compensation announces a public meeting of the Three-Member Panel that will be held on Wednesday, January 4, 2017, beginning at 3:00 p.m. in room 116 of the J. Edwin Larson Building located at 200 East Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida. This public meeting, to which all are invited, has been convened to facilitate the Panel's consideration of the following items:

- The Three-Member Panel 2017 Biennial Report

- The Division's Annual Report on the resolution of health care provider medical reimbursement disputes and activities (2016) conducted pursuant to s. 440.13(8), F.S.

The Division of Workers' Compensation will publish the meeting packet for the Panel's January 4, 2017 meeting on the Division's website under "Notices" (http://www.myfloridacfo.com/Division/WC/noticesRules.htm).

Notice of this public meeting appears in the Wednesday, December 21, 2016, issue of the Florida Administrative Register. To view the official (published) notice click on the following link:  https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/View_notice.asp?id=18390441 

If you have questions about this communication, please contact:  Brittany O'Neil, Policy Coordinator, Division of Workers' Compensation, Department of Financial Services, 200 East Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-4220, Phone (850) 413-1927 or Brittany.ONeil@myfloridacfo.com. 

 

To learn more about these issues and other Workers' Compensation information click here: http://www.myfloridacfo.com/Division/WC/

Maximum Workers' Compensation Rate, Effective January 1, 2017

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity has determined the statewide average weekly wage paid by employers subject to the Florida Reemployment Assistance Program Law to be $886.46 for the four calendar quarters ending June 30, 2016.

Subsection 440.12(2), Florida Statutes (2016), expressly provides that, for injuries occurring on or after August 1, 1979, the weekly compensation rate shall be equal to 100 percent of the statewide average weekly wage, adjusted to the nearest dollar, and that the average weekly wage determined by the Department of Economic Opportunity for the four calendar quarters ending each June 30 shall be used in determining the maximum weekly compensation rate with respect to injuries occurring in the calendar year immediately following.

Accordingly, the maximum weekly compensation rate for work-related injuries and illnesses occurring on or after January 1, 2017 shall be $886.00.

Florida DWC to Change Rule 69L-6.027

A Notice of Development of Rulemaking (www.myfloridacfo.com/Division/WC/pdf/69L-6.015-.027-Rule-Development-Notice-2016-Nov-22.doc) was published for proposed Rules 69L-6.015 and 69L-6.027, both for the Florida Administrative Code.

The notice provides that if requested in writing, a Rule Workshop will be held on Monday, December 19, 2016, at 9:30 A.M., eastern time, at 2012 Capital Circle, SE, Room 102, Hartman Building, in Tallahassee, Florida.

Chapter 2016-56, Laws of Florida, amended subsection 440.05(10), F.S., to delete the requirement that any corporation with exempt officers engaged in the construction industry must maintain written statements of those exempted persons acknowledging each such individual's exempt status. The proposed amendment to Rule 69L-6.015, F.A.C., will also delete this requirement from the rule. Chapter 2016-56, Laws of Florida, also included legislative changes to the penalty requirements in subsection 440.107(7), F.S. The changes include: (i) a 25% penalty reduction for non-compliant employers who have not previously been issued a stop-work order or penalty assessment order and who timely provide requested business records; and (ii) a reduction of the imputed payroll multiplier from twice the statewide average weekly wage to the pre-2014 level of one and one-half times the statewide average weekly wage. The proposed amendment to Rule 69L-6.027, F.A.C., will incorporate these changes on the Penalty Calculation Worksheet.

The official Notice of Development of Rulemaking (www.myfloridacfo.com/Division/WC/pdf/69L-6.015-.027-Rule-Development-Notice-2016-Nov-22.doc) appeared in Volume 42, Number 232 of the Florida Administrative Register, published on December 1, 2016.