Tag: Workers Compensation

Case Study: CA Supreme Court Rules Gig Economy Drivers Are Independent Contractors

After nearly four years of court battles, Proposition 22—also known as the Protect App-Based Drivers and Services Act—has been upheld by the California Supreme Court. The voter-enacted law allows drivers for app-based transportation and delivery companies—also known as “network companies”—to be classified as independent contractors, as long as several conditions are met. Summary of Proposition […]

Managing Implications of Remote Employees Working in Multiple States

Remote work has been all the rage in recent years. Initially, employees were working from home because offices were closed by government mandate. While working from home, employees were usually working in the same town or neighboring suburb as their normal office space. As remote work has become a more permanent part of the white-collar […]

Recent Home Depot Case Hammers Home Rules of Procedure

Home Depot was recently entangled in a personal injury lawsuit filed against it by an employee who hurt his back loading a lawn mower onto a customer’s trailer. Discovery [pretrial fact finding] ensued, which is where important lessons—for all Texas employers, not just those that opt out of workers’ compensation—were dealt out by the Beaumont […]

The Importance of Responding to (and Paying) Workers’ Comp Premiums

In North Dakota, like all states, it’s extremely important for employers to properly identify (and classify) their employees and secure proper workers’ compensation insurance coverage. North Dakota’s Workforce Safety and Insurance (WSI) requires employers to identify their employees and submit payroll data so WSI can calculate the premium during that policy period. Failure to submit […]

Unreasonable-Refusal-to-Rehire Claim Barred by 10-Year-Old Compromise Agreement

Wisconsin employers are used to being able to settle and receive a release of claims for known and unknown events that have occurred only in the past. In a recent Labor & Industry Review Commission (LIRC) decision, a full and final compromise agreement entered into between the parties prevented the employee from maintaining an unreasonable-refusal-to-rehire […]

Employee, Spouse Blame Employer for COVID-19 Infection, but Lawsuit Fails

A federal court recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by an employee and his spouse attempting to hold his employer liable for both of them contracting COVID-19. The dismissal should bring comfort to employer anxiety over negligence lawsuits by employees and their family members seeking damages for possibly bringing a coronavirus infection home from the workplace.

Tennessee Court Gives No Quarter to Fired Undocumented Immigrant

Tennessee’s workers’ compensation statute allows injured workers to recoup benefits regardless of whether they are lawfully employed. In a recent case, a West Tennessee federal district court considered whether an undocumented immigrant could file a lawsuit against his former employer, whom he claims fired him in retaliation for pursuing workers’ comp.

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Nebraska Supreme Court OK’s Employee’s Vocational Rehabilitation Plan

Nebraska law permits the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court to approve vocational rehabilitation plans to facilitate certain injured workers’ return to gainful employment. Read on to learn about the Nebraska Supreme Court’s recent decision on what the law means to “restore” an employee to work in “suitable employment.”