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		Home > About SFM > News Company News Recent headlines 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 View news archive News Archive 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 Anoka-Hennepin School District partners with SFM Risk Solutions — Dec. 10, 2010 SFM Risk Solutions has been selected to manage the workers' compensation claims for the Anoka-Hennepin School District beginning Dec. 1. View details Use the penguin as your guide—keep employees from falling down on the job this winter — Dec. 2, 2010 Raise your employees' awareness of slip-and-fall hazards this winter by using SFM's penguin series prevention materials. View details SFM launches online wage reporting — May 25, 2010 SFM recently launched a web-based wage reporting function for policyholders with annual premium of more than $1,000. It allows policyholders, especially those that have fluctuating cash flows, to time premium payments to better match their business operations. View details SFM launches improved online Resource Catalog — May 20, 2010 Need to brush up on workers' comp? Visit SFM's newly redesigned online Resource Catalog. The updated version of the Resource Catalog launched today. View details Schmitty and Sons receives Premier Partner Award from SFM Mutual Insurance — May 20, 2010 The Dakota County Tribune published a story about Lakeville-based Schmitty and Sons, an SFM policyholder, winning the Premier Partner Award. View story The Dakota Country Tribute website High EPL risk continues; SFM expands coverage — March 4, 2010 The volume of employment practice charges against employers that surged to record highs nationally in 2008 continued in 2009. However, studies show small business owners remain largely unprotected. Meanwhile, SFM has enhanced EPL coverage at no additional charge. View details SFM launches penguin campaign to help employers prevent winter slips and falls — Jan. 7, 2010 "Walk like a penguin." That's the theme around which SFM has built a campaign to help employers avoid expensive slip-and-fall injuries this winter. View details SFM launches redesigned website — Jan. 4, 2010 Agents, employers and self-insured clients will find an easier-to-navigate, better organized version of SFM's website the next time they visit. SFM launched a completely redesigned version of its public website today. The new site was developed with input from SFM's agents and policyholders, with the focus on providing easy access to the information that users find most important. View details Light-duty job resources now available to employers — Jan. 4, 2010 SFM recently launched its Transitional Work Warehouse to help policyholders develop light-duty work programs for injured employees who have medical restrictions. View details New law creates potential for EPL lawsuits — Jan. 4, 2010 The new Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) became effective Nov. 21, 2009. GINA could open the door for employers' exposure to potential employment practice lawsuits. Protect your business with SFM's EPL coverage. View details H1N1 and workers' compensation — October 22, 2009 SFM medical director Dr. Dan Janiga discusses the workers' compensation implications from the H1N1 flu in this video. View video SFM selected to service Minnesota Assigned Risk Plan — October 12, 2009 SFM Risk Solutions has been selected as a servicing carrier for a portion of the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Assigned Risk Plan business. View details SFM launches employment practices liability coverage as charges against employers rise — April 1, 2009 Workers' compensation specialty carrier SFM Companies today began insuring employers in the Midwest against the rapidly increasing risk of employment practices liabilities, protecting them from high legal defense costs and giving them the ability to better manage difficult employee situations, company officials said. View details Bloomington public schools honored for outstanding work comp management — February 2, 2009 Independent School District 271, Bloomington, was recognized recently by Minnesota's largest workers' compensation insurer for outstanding workers' compensation cost management practices. View details Accessible Space Inc. honored for leadership in preventing work injuries — January 21, 2009 Accessible Space Inc., of St. Paul, was recognized recently by Minnesota's largest workers' compensation insurer for leadership in preventing on-the-job injuries. View details GLS Companies honored for leadership in preventing work injuries — January 21, 2009 GLS Companies, of Brooklyn Park, was recognized recently by Minnesota's largest workers' compensation insurer for leadership in preventing on-the-job injuries. View details Hide news archive

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