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		Home > About SFM > News Company News Recent headlines 75 percent of injuries reported online — May 23, 2013 SFM received more than 22,800 First Reports of Injury in 2012. More than 75 percent were submitted online through SFM's website. View details Prompt injury reporting allows state deadlines to be met — May 9, 2013 Employers' prompt reporting of work injuries to SFM is part of the reason for SFM's continued top ranking in the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry's annual Prompt First Action Report. Responsiveness by SFM claims representatives is the other major part. View details Policyholder meeting set; please return proxy ballots — April 26, 2013 SFM's annual policyholder meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m., Monday, June 10, at SFM's Bloomington, Minn., headquarters. Policyholders unable to attend in person are encouraged to contribute to the business of their mutual company by returning their proxy ballots by June 7. View details SFM 2012 subrogation recoveries exceed $1 million — April 11, 2013 SFM finished 2012 with $1.1 million in subrogation recoveries for the year. In 63 percent of claims with recovery potential, SFM was able to recover 100 percent of the workers' compensation payments made. View details Charges against employers: Discrimination charges up 31 percent from pre-recession levels — March 28, 2013 The good news in the wake of the federal EEOC report on 2012 discrimination charges against employers is that discrimination charges appear to have leveled off over the past three years. The bad news is that they are running 31 percent higher than before the recession. View details Medical treatment parameter bill to get hearing Nebraska Legislature — March 20, 2013 A bill to establish treatment parameters in Nebraska is scheduled for a legislative hearing in the Business and Labor Committee in March. View details Scholarships to be awarded; fundraiser set — March 14, 2013 Scholarships for the upcoming school year are scheduled to be awarded soon after the March 31 application deadline. Already in its first four years, the Foundation has awarded higher education scholarships to 44 students and committed $284,000. View details SFM CEO elected chair of Minnesota Safety Council — February 28, 2013 SFM President and CEO Bob Lund was recently elected to a two-year term as chair of the Minnesota Safety Council Board of Directors. View details SFM Foundation releases updated website — February 7, 2013 An updated version of the SFM Foundation website launched earlier this week. The new site features a new design, and reflects the many lives the Foundation has touched through personal photos, quotes and biographies of scholarship recipients. View details Illegal immigrant entitled to benefits, court rules — January 31, 2013 An immigrant worker who falsified paperwork to get a job and is living in the United States illegally is nonetheless entitled to workers' compensation, a Delaware superior court ruled. View details 2012 was a year of giving for SFM — January 24, 2013 2012 was a phenomenal year for giving back to the community at SFM. SFM's nearly 200 employees raised more than $25,000 in monetary donations for local charities, logged 250 volunteer hours, and donated many items to those in need, according to company officials. View details Final flu shot reminder — January 17, 2013 Flu seasons typically peak in January or February and can continue as late as May. It's not too late to remind employees to get vaccinated. View details Minnesota raises caps on executive officer earnings — January 17, 2013 The Minnesota Department of Commerce has approved significant increases in the minimum and maximum earnings limits for workers' compensation benefits for executive officers View details SFM recognizes the best of the best internally — January 3, 2013 The recent winner of SFM's Richard J. Marshik Service Excellence Award explains his customer service philosophy. View details Employer's liability rates to fall in 2013 — December 27, 2012 Employer's liability rates fall significantly beginning Jan. 1. The decreases are part of the recent filings by the National Council on Compensation Insurance and state rating bureaus and approved by state insurance commissioners. View details E-mod split-point change goes into effect beginning Jan. 1 — December 27, 2012 A significant change in how employers' claims costs impact the calculation of their e-mods begins Jan. 1 in Minnesota and Iowa, Feb. 1 in Nebraska, July 1 in South Dakota and Oct. 1 in Wisconsin. The 2013 change is the first in a series of three annual increases scheduled. View details Prevent the next slip-and-fracture — December 20, 2012 Last winter, a single day's snowfall resulted in a slew of workers' compensation claims. Many were fractures and concussions, which typically are the biggest portion of winter's most severe injuries. Here are some simple ways you can help try to avoid them. View details Ladies' Night Out raises $5,000 for Foundation scholarships — December 6, 2012 In its first year, Ladies' Night Out–Shopping for Scholarships brought in more than $5,000 for the SFM Foundation. The Nov. 8 event at Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury, Minn., attracted about 135 attendees for an evening of food, drinks and shopping. View details Ice grippers footwear results in fewer slips, falls for school district — November 14, 2012 A new program requiring Eau Claire Area School District employees to wear traction footwear has resulted in significantly fewer slip-and-fall incidents, according to district officials. The district plans to expand the program this winter. View details Brochure SFM sends to injured employees updated — November 14, 2012 The brochure SFM sends to injured workers titled "You were injured at work...Now what?" has been revised to emphasize return-to-work and the employee's role in the recovery process. View details Walgreens returns to SFM's pharmacy network — October 18, 2012 Injured workers covered by SFM for workers' compensation benefits will again see the nation's largest drugstore chain listed among network pharmacies. View details New Minnesota law requires verification when hiring building subcontractors — October 4, 2012 Minnesota building construction contractors who are subcontracting work are required by new state regulations to verify that their subcontractors are registered or licensed under the state Department of Labor and Industry's new registration program. View details View news archive News Archive It's not too late to attend tonight's Ladies' Night Out — November 8, 2012 With 30 vendors, more than 30 silent auction items for sale, and free appetizers and drinks, tonight's Ladies' Night Out—Shopping for Scholarships is sure to provide a fun shopping experience that will also have an impact on local students. Tickets are available at the door for $25 at Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury. View details Ladies' Night Out to benefit students of parents killed or injured on the job — September 19, 2012 The SFM Foundation is inviting supporters who like to shop for an evening of food, drinks, relaxation and browsing through a great selection of merchandise. Ladies' Night Out—Shopping for Scholarships, planned from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, at Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury, Minn., will include more than 25 vendors selling jewelry, purses, food, housewares and more. View details SFM awarded Wellness by Design Award for second year — August 15, 2012 For the second year in a row, SFM has been awarded a gold level Wellness by Design Award by Hennepin County. The annual award recognizes worksites with exceptional programs for creating healthy work environments and encouraging healthy employee lifestyles. View details SFM's online training recently upgraded — August 13, 2012 The online training portal SFM offers policyholders and TPA clients recently underwent a facelift. Featured enhancements include a new look, improved navigation, a custom report builder, and one-click access to enroll employees, deploy training individually, or to the entire organization. The goal of the upgrade was to make organizations' training administrators' jobs easier. View details SFM launches SFM Agency Manager (SAM) upgrade — July 26, 2012 Agents' access to client data recently expanded with the release of an upgrade to SFM Agency Manager (SAM). The new system not only allows for quoting and submitting business, but also lets agents manage their SFM book of business. View details Foundation awards 14 more scholarships; committed student funds reach $284,000 — July 26, 2012 The 44 scholarships awarded over the past four years to children of parents killed or injured on the job involve workers' comp claims handled by 27 different insurers. View details 37 percent of discrimination cases against employers claim retaliation — June 7, 2012 Workers nationally filed more charges of employer retaliation in 2011 than any other discrimination charge, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Charges of retaliation, up 3 percent from the prior year, were involved in 37 percent of all cases against employers. View details June brings weekly themes for National Safety Month — May 16, 2012 Each June the National Safety Council encourages organizations to observe National Safety Month. Since injuries occur on and off the job, this year's campaign focuses on how safety is a 24/7 endeavor. View details State safety conference to feature SFM panel — May 3, 2012 Attendees at the Minnesota Safety Council's annual Safety and Health Conference will have the opportunity to hear a panel of SFM experts discuss the basics of workers' compensation and answers to commonly asked questions. The SFM panel includes an attorney, underwriter, claims representative and loss prevention representative. View details Diagnostics network expanded in Wisconsin — May 3, 2012 SFM has expanded the opportunities for high-quality, lower-cost diagnostic testing through Wisconsin medical providers. View details Right shoes prevent injuries; others may cause them — April 5, 2012 So-called "toner" or "rocker-bottom" shoes are aggressively marketed. But as far as the workplace is concerned, medical and loss prevention experts warn that employees who wear them may be more prone to accidents on the job. View details Merriam named SFM board chair — March 22, 2012 Gene Merriam has been named chair of the SFM Board of Directors. Merriam, a former state senator and Department of Natural Resources commissioner, is president of The Freshwater Society. View details Legal education forum to feature SFM attorneys — March 22, 2012 The Minnesota Continuing Legal Education Work Comp Institute, slated for April 13 in Minneapolis, includes presentations by attorneys from SFM's in-house law firm, Lynn Scharfenberg and Associates. View details CPAP applications due April 1 — March 1, 2012 The deadline to submit 2012 Contractors' Premium Adjustment Program applications is April 1. The CPAP credit reduces the workers' compensation premiums of contractors paying above-average wages in certain job classifications. View details Nebraska group eyes medical cost-control parameters — March 1, 2012 Nebraskans for Workers' Compensation Equity and Fairness recently met to discuss the need for treatment parameters in the Nebraska workers' compensation system. The group is expected to lobby to have a bill introduced in 2012. View details Iowa-Nebraska team expands staff — February 9, 2012 SFM's Iowa-Nebraska operation has added two new experienced team members, a loss prevention representative and a claims representative. View details Reminder: Post OSHA log through April — February 2, 2012 Employers subject to Occupational Safety and Health Administration recordkeeping requirements are reminded to post their OSHA 300 log of recorded injuries and illnesses for 2011. OSHA requires employers to post the log Feb. 1 through April 30. View details 5-year state exam indicates SFM's financial strength — January 24, 2012 The Minnesota Department of Commerce recently completed its five-year financial examination of SFM, which is required of all insurance companies originally licensed in Minnesota. View details SFM ranks No. 1 in response on claims — January 18, 2012 For the 13th consecutive year, SFM ranked No. 1 among large insurers for prompt action on lost-time claims, according to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry's recently released Prompt First Action Report for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2011. View details Walgreens exits cost-control network; SFM pharmacy users directed to switch — January 12, 2012 Walgreens in early January failed to reach a contractual agreement with Express Scripts, which administers SFM's pharmacy benefits management program. Over the next six months, Express Scripts plans to transition Walgreens users to other network pharmacies while honoring in-network pricing for those still using Walgreens. View details Watch 'n learn: Employer Kit webcasts discuss practices for handling injuries — December 29, 2011 Short videos on handling work injuries are now available on SFM's website and YouTube channel. View details Policyholders join Minnesota CHASE — December 29, 2011 Hardrives Inc. and Ryan Companies US Inc., both based in the Twin Cities metro area, recently joined the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry's CHASE program to help reduce injuries and fatalities on construction worksites. View details Nebraska weekly maximum benefit to increase Jan. 1 — December 8, 2011 The maximum weekly income benefits under the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act are set to increase to $710 for injuries occurring on or after Jan. 1, 2012. View details SFM joins Trusted Choice — December 6, 2011 SFM is the newest member of the Trusted Choice consumer branding program for independent agents and brokers, joining 65 other leading insurance companies nationwide as Trusted Choice partners. View details Obama pardons turkey from Willmar Poultry, an SFM TPA client — December 1, 2011 With nary a squawk, this year's national Thanksgiving turkey, a 45-pound bird from SFM client Willmar Poultry, received the annual presidential pardon from President Obama on the White House lawn Nov. 23. View details Two state of Iowa documents changed recently — December 1, 2011 The Iowa Workforce Development recently released two updated documents for Iowa employers and injured employees. View details Verizon disability lawsuit settlement carries implications for employers — October 20, 2011 Verizon Communications in July agreed to pay $20 million to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC charged that Verizon violated the federal Americans With Disabilities Act by disciplining or firing employees who built up absences under a no-fault attendance policy rather than making exceptions for those with disabilities. View details Brener elected to IAIABC executive committee — September 6, 2011 SFM Senior Vice President and General Counsel Scott Brener was recently elected to the 2011-2012 executive committee of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC), North America's oldest workers' compensation association. View details Medical implants: High court ruling on high costs underscores need for legislative remedy — September 1, 2011 A recent Minnesota Supreme Court ruling that permits medical providers to continue marking up the cost of expensive implant hardware underscores the need to continue to pursue corrective action by the state Legislature to help contain medical costs, according to SFM officials. View details Streaming videos now available through SFM's 'Safety Video Lending Library' — July 21, 2011 Employers can now stream high quality safety videos over the internet as part of SFM's safety video lending library. Get faster delivery, easier access, and avoid late fees or lost videos by streaming online. View details SFM website receives national communications award — July 7, 2011 SFM's website sfmic.com won a top award in a national communications contest recently. SFM's website was awarded 2nd place in the 2011 communications competition sponsored by the American Association of State Compensation Insurance Funds, an association of workers' compensation organizations across the United States and Canada. View details Happe elected vice chair of national workers' comp reinsurance organization — July 7, 2011 Mike Happe, SFM senior vice president, business development and marketing, was recently elected to a one-year term as vice chair of the National Workers Compensation Reinsurance Association. Happe is in line to become chair in 2012. He also represents SFM on the board of governors for the National Workers Compensation Reinsurance Pool. View details SFM wins Wellness by Design award — June 30, 2011 SFM has been awarded a gold level 2011 Wellness by Design Award by Hennepin County, which is Minnesota's largest county by population and home of SFM's headquarters. View details Jeffers, Tyler re-elected to SFM board of directors — June 30, 2011 Truman Jeffers, of New Brighton, Minn., and F. Clayton Tyler, of Minneapolis, were re-elected by policyholders of SFM Mutual Insurance to four-year terms on the board of directors at SFM's annual policyholder meeting June 13. View details SFM named Top 100 Workplaces — June 20, 2011 SFM is one of "the best of the best," said the CEO of the Minneapolis StarTribune in a letter announcing SFM's selection to the "Top 100 Workplaces 2011" list. View details CompOnline upgrades give employers state-of-the-art risk mangement tools — June 14, 2011 SFM released state-of-the art upgrades to CompOnline® Risk Management System, giving SFM policyholders access to industry-leading functions and analytic capabilities for managing their workers' compensation risks. View details SFM Foundation awards 11 multi-year scholarships; golf, auction fundraisers set — June 1, 2011 The SFM Foundation recently awarded higher education scholarships to 11 Minnesota and Wisconsin students of parents killed or seriously injured on the job. The 11 recipients were from 36 applications received. Three awards involved parents who died in work accidents. View details New ADA Amendments Act regulations effective May 24 — May 26, 2011 On May 24, 2011, the final regulations implementing the Americans With Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) went into effect. While not exhaustive, the following discussion highlights many of the provisions and new regulations applicable to employers managing injured workers. View details Defense costs: Discrimination charges against employers escalate sharply — May 12, 2011 Workers nationally filed a record number of discrimination charges against employers in 2010, according to the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission. Charges were up 7 percent, continuing the sharp trend that has produced a 32 percent increase in charges against employers over the past four years. View details SFM recognizes the best of the best internally — May 5, 2011 SFM has awarded its internal Richard J. Marshik Service Excellence Award to a veteran SFM claims adjuster, Todd Wendinger. View details State-of-the-art upgrades to CompOnline coming soon — April 28, 2011 SFM policyholders soon will have access to industry-leading, state-of-the-art functions and analytic capabilities through SFM's CompOnline® Risk Management System. View details Enhanced loss runs to be released soon; subscribe online — April 21, 2011 Enhanced loss runs soon will be available through SFM's CompOnline® Risk Management System. The new reports are slated to be sent to subscribing SFM policyholders in the second quarter. View details SFM physician is Top Doctor of occupational medicine — April 14, 2011 SFM in-house physician Dr. Beth Baker was recently honored as a 2011 Top Doctor of occupational medicine by Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine. View details 73 percent of claims reported via the handy online form — April 7, 2011 Of the more than 19,000 First Reports of Injury submitted to SFM in 2010, 73 percent were submitted online through SFM's website sfmic.com. View details 2010: SFM serves record number of employers — March 15, 2011 SFM served a record-high 15,013 employers in 2010 in its five core states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, including insureds and self-insureds. View details Upper Lakes Foods, Inc. partners with SFM Risk Solutions — Feb. 24, 2011 SFM Risk Solutions has been selected to manage the open self-insured workers' compensation claims for Upper Lakes Foods, Inc., beginning April 1. View details New workers' comp Employer Kit is an all-in-one resource; order copies online — Feb. 3, 2011 The SFM Employer Kit has been updated and integrated with SFM's online Employer Kit at sfmic.com. The kit includes best practices for reporting claims, managing work injuries, planning return to work, preventing injuries and more. View details Minnesota treatment parameters revised — Jan. 27, 2011 Significant changes to Minnesota's treatment parameters and permanent partial disability schedule went into effect in August. View details SFM ranks No. 1 in response on claims — Jan. 6, 2011 For the 12th consecutive year, SFM ranked No. 1 among large insurers for prompt action on lost-time claims, according to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry's recently released Prompt First Action Report. View details Hide news archive

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