Quarterly Newsletter: Jan. 1 - March 31, 2021
Where Our Work Was Used

  • Alaska: Findings from our worker compensation laws and COVID-19 state presumption studies were cited in submission of House Bill (HB) 30, which relates to the payment of workers' compensation benefits in the case of permanent partial impairment, and HB 45, which establishes a presumption of compensability for “frontline workers” during public health emergencies created by contagious diseases. 
  • Illinois: Findings from our CompScope™ Benchmarks and Medical Benchmarks for Illinois studies were used by the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission in hearings with state legislators.
  • Minnesota: Our report COVID-19 Workers’ Compensation Presumption Coverage was cited in a Department of Labor and Industry report analyzing COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims.
  • Montana: Our medical price index for workers' compensation and worker outcomes studies were used in a presentation by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry to Montana policymakers and other system stakeholders.
  • National: Findings from our study, The Early Impact of COVID-19 on Workers’ Compensation Claim Composition, were citied in an article in the Workers' First Watch, which is a magazine published by the Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group.
Latest Research
2021 Virtual Conference A Success!

Thank you to all those who attended our 37th Annual WCRI Issues & Research Conference, which was held virtually March 23-24, 2021. The post-event feedback has been extremely positive and we could not have been happier with the turnout as registration was the highest it has ever been for one of our conferences. We covered many topics, though COVID-19 obviously dominated our discussions. We hope you found the sessions, speakers, and materials interesting and valuable. 
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Member Spotlight: Jeffrey Austin White, Gallagher Bassett

We recently had the pleasure of talking to one of our members ─ Jeffrey Austin White, who is a senior vice president and product manager for workers'' compensation for Gallagher Bassett (GB). At GB, he is largely responsible for advanced analytics, digital technologies and product development efforts for GB’s global operations.

Jeffrey began his career as an aerospace engineer and has since worked with diverse organizations including the: Food and Drug Administration, National Science Foundation, Certification Commission for Health Information Technology, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Naval Surface Warfare Center.

Educating Diverse Groups

Over the last three months, we were invited to share our research findings with a diverse group of policymakers and other stakeholders at large conferences and smaller briefings. Below is a sample.

Briefings:
  • National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
  • New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board
  • New York State Workers' Compensation Board
  • North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance
  • Ohio State University College of Public Health
  • Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers' Compensation
  • Pennsylvania House of Representatives Committee on Labor & Industry
  • The Workers' Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau of Massachusetts

Conferences/Meetings:
  • NIOSH COVID-19 Workers' Compensation Workgroup
  • Virtual Workshop on Workers compensation policy organized by Montana State University
  • Webinar hosted by the NIOSH Total Worker Health® Program and Center for Workers’ Compensation Studies