The first Out Front Ideas with Kimberly and Mark webinar of 2017 provided our thoughts on the 20 Workers' Compensation Issues to Watch in 2017. What follows is a summary of the initial 10 issues discussed:

1. Election impact

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) under President Obama felt state workers' compensation systems needed reform, and they were prepared to recommend minimum benefit standards to the states. President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Labor, Andrew Puzder, has been a vocal opponent of many federal labor regulations. For now, any talk of the federal government getting involved in state workers' compensation issues seems to be on hold.

2. Health care reform

Regardless of which side of the aisle we find ourselves on, surveys have shown that most Americans believe the Affordable Care Act is not working as it was originally intended or as well as they would like.

While we wait to see how health care reform progresses, we are hopeful that efforts underway to shift from fee-for-service to value-based and outcomes-focused care continue to advance and that health care suppliers continue to focus on population wellness as much as they focus on chronic disease. Kimberly George views this as the single most important issue to watch in 2017.

3. OSHA

Another potential impact of the election results is the direction OSHA may take in 2017 and beyond. In recent years, employers have complained that OSHA was more focused on enforcement than education and training, noting its shift of resources. Recent OSHA policies such as the publicly accessible online database and restrictions on post-injury drug testing were met with significant resistance from the employer community. OSHA falls under DOL and also is likely to have a new direction under the Trump administration.

4. ADA/FMLA

Leave-of-absence regulations under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) have become increasingly more complex over the past eight years.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation requests were initially related to ergonomics and transitional work accommodations following an illness or injury. Today, they have become more complex, including everything from bringing service animals into the workplace, allergies and noise accommodations to establishing work-from-home accommodations.