The NJ Appellate Division has expanded the exceptions to the "going and coming rule" by affirming a trial court decision hold that an injury while on a coffee break is a compensable event. The injured worker was involved in a motor vehicle accident, off the employers' premises.
The employee was a union office who drove a company car from home to work site. His duties required him to travel to a union hall to discuss future work plans with an official. The official was in am eeting and no coffee was available at the union hall, so the employee decided to drive to a coffee vendor when the motor vehicle accident occurred.
The Court's reasoning, of the so called, "Starbucks Doctrine", expanded compensbility to off-premises injuries where the deviation from employment was minor and reasonable. It was equated by the trial court as encompassed in the "the personal comfort" exception.
"Here, the judge of compensation made comprehensive findings based on credibility determinations. He found that petitioner was an “off-site” employee who, facing an extended wait to consult with an expert concerning a work-related issue, was injured while driving for a cup of coffee. It cannot be expected that he would stand like a statue or remain at the union hall with nothing to do for such a period, particularly when there was no coffee available at the site. We cannot conclude in these circumstances that the injuries were not compensable merely because petitioner chose to take his authorized “coffee break” other than at the closest location. The distance of the coffee shop from respondent's off-site jobsite was reasonable given the rural nature of the community in Winslow Township and the time petitioner had to wait to seek the counsel he sought. The judge found petitioner to be credible, and under Jumpp, accidents occurring during coffee breaks for off-site employees, which are equivalent to those of on-site workers, are minor deviations from employment which permit recovery of workers' compensation benefits."
Cooper v. Barnickel Enterprises, Inc.,
--- A.2d ----, 2010 WL 98866, N.J.Super.A.D., January 13, 2010 (NO. A-1813-08T3)
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query coffee. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query coffee. Sort by date Show all posts
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Coffee Workers at Risk for Lung Disease
Today's post is shared from cdc.gov
Roasted Coffee Beans
Obliterative bronchiolitis, an irreversible form of lung disease in which the smallest airways in the lung (the bronchioles) become scarred and constricted, blocking the movement of air, was previously identified in flavoring manufacturing workers and microwave popcorn workers who were occupationally exposed to diacetyl (2,3-butanedione) or butter flavorings containing diacetyl. Now, NIOSH research finds that workers at coffee processing facilities may also be at risk.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Tonight on HBO: Hot Coffee - How The Industry Suppresses Litigation
The acclaimed documentary, "Hot Coffee," premieres tonight on HBO. The film reveals what really happened to Stella Liebeck, the Albuquerque woman who spilled coffee on herself and sued McDonald’s, while exploring how and why the case garnered so much media attention, who funded the effort and to what end.
The film reveals what tactics are used by Industry to suppress litigation. After seeing this film, you will decide who really profited from spilling hot coffee.
Related articles
- Penalties, Paper and The Injured Worker (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- US Supreme Court Advances the Rights of Injured (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Federal Court Enjoins CMS From MSP Recovery Procedures (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Safer Chemical Industry WIll Produce More Jobs (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Hot Coffee Premieres at Sundance (hotcoffeethemovie.com)
- Must See TV: Hot Coffee Premieres on HBO on Monday 6/27 (lawprofessors.typepad.com)
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Diacetyl Emerges Again As A Serious Threat to Worker Health
Emerging again in the workplace are serious and health threatening exposures to Diacetyl. The Journal Sentinel has reported:
"Most coffee roasters have never heard of the chemical compound diacetyl. Those who have, associate it solely with its devastating effects on microwave popcorn workers and those in the flavoring industry. They don't suspect that it could be wreaking the same havoc on their own lungs.
"We don't make flavored coffee, many in the roasting business say. It's not a problem for us.
"But air sampling by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel shows reason to worry.
"Tests at two midsized Wisconsin roasteries that agreed to let the news organization analyze the air in their production areas found diacetyl levels from unflavored roasted coffee that exceeded safety standards proposed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"In some areas, by nearly four times the concentration.
"Workers exposed to similar levels at popcorn plants suffered serious, incurable lung disease.
Click here to read the entire article "Coffee roasters' health at risk from chemical compound, air samples suggest--But most workers don't realize their lungs may be in danger from exposure to diacetyl"
Read more about Diacetyl and workers' compensation:
NIOSH to Propose New Criteria for Diacetyl Exposure
Aug 18, 2011
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) invites public comment on a draft document, "Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione.” For public ...
Workers' Compensation: Flavoring 2,3-pentanedione ...
Aug 20, 2012
2,3-pentanedione should be added to that list. "Flavorings-related lung disease is a potentially disabling disease of food industry workers associated with exposure to the α-diketone butter flavoring, diacetyl (2,3-butanedione).
Workers' Compensation: Legislation to Protect Food ...
Sep 27, 2007
The legislation would force the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue rules limiting workers' exposure to diacetyl, a chemical used in artificial food flavoring for microwave popcorn and other foods.
Flavoring Workers At Higher Risk for Alzheimers
Aug 04, 2012
It found evidence that the ingredient, diacetyl (DA), intensifies the damaging effects of an abnormal brain protein linked to Alzheimer's disease. The study appears in ACS' journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.
"Most coffee roasters have never heard of the chemical compound diacetyl. Those who have, associate it solely with its devastating effects on microwave popcorn workers and those in the flavoring industry. They don't suspect that it could be wreaking the same havoc on their own lungs.
"We don't make flavored coffee, many in the roasting business say. It's not a problem for us.
"But air sampling by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel shows reason to worry.
"Tests at two midsized Wisconsin roasteries that agreed to let the news organization analyze the air in their production areas found diacetyl levels from unflavored roasted coffee that exceeded safety standards proposed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"In some areas, by nearly four times the concentration.
"Workers exposed to similar levels at popcorn plants suffered serious, incurable lung disease.
Click here to read the entire article "Coffee roasters' health at risk from chemical compound, air samples suggest--But most workers don't realize their lungs may be in danger from exposure to diacetyl"
Read more about Diacetyl and workers' compensation:
NIOSH to Propose New Criteria for Diacetyl Exposure
Aug 18, 2011
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) invites public comment on a draft document, "Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione.” For public ...
Workers' Compensation: Flavoring 2,3-pentanedione ...
Aug 20, 2012
2,3-pentanedione should be added to that list. "Flavorings-related lung disease is a potentially disabling disease of food industry workers associated with exposure to the α-diketone butter flavoring, diacetyl (2,3-butanedione).
Workers' Compensation: Legislation to Protect Food ...
Sep 27, 2007
The legislation would force the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue rules limiting workers' exposure to diacetyl, a chemical used in artificial food flavoring for microwave popcorn and other foods.
Flavoring Workers At Higher Risk for Alzheimers
Aug 04, 2012
It found evidence that the ingredient, diacetyl (DA), intensifies the damaging effects of an abnormal brain protein linked to Alzheimer's disease. The study appears in ACS' journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.
….
Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Hot Coffee- Is Justice Being Served
Everyone has heard of the case against McDonald for spilled hot coffee that resulted in a large verdict. Susan Saladoff has undertaken an effort to undo the effects of the "brainwashing" campaign of the insurance industry designed to demonstrate the triviality of the claim.
Last week I had the opportunity to watch a screening the movie and the actual and horrendous bodily damage caused by the scalding hot coffee. The movie depicted the callouss behavior of McDonald's in its disregard of the on going complaints concerning its beverage.
Ms. Saladoff has undertaken a mission to right a wrong and reverse the effort of the insurance industry to limit all types of lawsuits under the guise of reform. The movie in its final stages of production. The producers are making an incredible effort to serve justice.
Click here to read more about "The Starbucks Doctrine" and workers' compensation.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Germs at the Office Are Often Found on Keyboards and at Coffee Stations
| Shared from the http://online.wsj.com/ As cold and flu season nears, is it possible to avoid the germ-filled spots in the office? WSJ's Sumathi Reddy joins Lunch Break with Tanya Rivero to discuss. Photo: iStock/Thomas_EyeDesign It's almost that time of year when you ever-so-slowly inch away from the person with the hacking cough and infectious sneeze. Turns out it's pretty hard to avoid the germs of your co-workers, even the ones you don't know personally. Just one door contaminated with a virus spreads the germ to about half the surfaces and hands of about half the employees in the office within four hours, according to a study at the University of Arizona, in Tucson. Germs traveled through the office just as quickly when the researchers infected a single person with the artificial virus. "The hand is quicker than the sneeze," said Charles Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona who presented the research at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in Washington D.C. earlier this month. The University of Arizona researchers conducted their study at an office building with 80 employees. They contaminated a push-plate door at the building entrance with a virus called bacteriophage MS-2. It doesn't infect people yet is similar in shape, size and survivability to common cold and stomach flu viruses. Within two hours, the virus had contaminated the break room—coffee pot, microwave button, fridge door handle—and then spread to restrooms,... |
Monday, October 28, 2013
A Day In The Life Of Ted the Tea-Partier
Today's guest post is by
Ted gets up at 6 A.M. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for government-enforced minimum water-quality standards.
With his first swallow of coffee, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to have the government insure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer’s medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance – now Ted gets it too.
He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Ted’s bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat-packing industry.
In the morning shower, Ted reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.
Ted dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is far less polluted than decades ago because some wacko liberal environmentalist fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air.
Ted begins his workday. He has a good job with decent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Ted’s employer pays these standards because Ted’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union. If Ted is hurt on the job or is laid off, he’ll get workers’ compensation or unemployment because some stupid liberal didn’t think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.
It’s noontime, and Ted needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Ted’s deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Ted’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression and nearly collapsed the banking system again in 2008, saved only by a tax-payer bailout.
Ted is home from work, and drives to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought to have the government enact car safety standards.
He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers’ Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans. The house didn’t have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification.
He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Ted wouldn’t have to. Ted gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and hate their country. He doesn’t mention that his radical, anti-government Republicans have, over many decades, fought against each and every one of these protections and benefits Ted enjoys throughout his day.
Ted agrees: “We don’t need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! They’re taking away our freedoms! After all, I’m a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have.”
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
OSHA Issues Bulletin on the Hazards of Exposure to Flavoring Substances
DIACETYL - BASED FLAVORS
The following flavors may contain diacetyl
The following flavors may contain diacetyl
| Dairy Flavorings | Hybrid Dairy Flavorings (Contains a substantial dairy content) | Brown Flavorings | Alcohol Flavorings | Other Flavorings | Fruit Flavorings |
| Butter | Butter Pecan | Butterscotch | Brandy | Nutmeg | Strawberry |
| Cheese | Strawberry Crème | Caramel | Rum | Honey | Cranberry |
| Cream Cheese | Vanilla Crème | Vanilla | Whisky | Graham Cracker | Raspberry |
| Cheesecake | Other Crème Flavors | Coffee | Pina Colada | Vinegar | Blackberry |
| Milk | Root Beer Float | Tea | Meat flavors (e.g. gravy | Boysenberry | |
| Yogurt | Chai | Toffee | Malt | Other berry flavors | |
| Ice Cream | Chocolate (esp. milk chocolate) | Wine | Fruit flavors -nearly any kind (e.g., banana, apple, grape, pear) | ||
| Egg | Cocoa | Beer | Cider | ||
| Ranch Dressing | Cocoa Butter | Tequila | Tomato | ||
| Sour Cream | Maple | ||||
| Buttermilk | Brown Sugar | ||||
| Mayonnaise | Marshmallow | ||||
| Peanut Butter | |||||
| Praline | |||||
| Starter Distillate or Butter Starter Distillate | Hazelnut & other nut flavors |
This Safety and Health Information Bulletin (SHIB) is addressed to employers and workers involved in the manufacture of "flavorings," (as defined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 21 CFR 101.22)1 in flavoring, food and beverage manufacturing. The SHIB provides information about the potential health effects associated with exposure to flavoring substances or its substitutes. It is important that all manufacturers and users of flavorings understand that even though a flavoring is considered safe to eat, it does not mean that the flavoring is also safe to breathe or handle in occupational settings.
Many substances are used in the manufacture of flavorings. Diacetyl is a substance widely used in food and beverage flavorings. Diacetyl is used in a wide variety of food flavorings, although flavor manufacturers have begun to reduce or eliminate the amount of diacetyl in some kinds of flavorings because of health concerns. The principal types of flavorings that use diacetyl are dairy flavors (e.g., butter, cheese, sour cream, egg, and yogurt flavors) and the so-called "brown flavors" (e.g., caramel, butterscotch, brown sugar, maple or coffee flavors). Some fruit flavors (e.g., strawberry and banana) may also contain diacetyl (Table 1). There are also a variety of special uses of diacetyl such as in vanilla, tea, and other flavorings that are difficult to categorize broadly. Industries where some firms are known to use these flavorings include, but are not limited to, candies, snack foods, prepared canned or frozen foods (especially with sauces), some dairy products, bakeries, animal foods, soft drinks, and flavored cooking oils. Some foods (e.g., dairy products, wine and beer) contain naturally occurring diacetyl.
The occurrence of severe lung disease among workers in workplaces where diacetyl is manufactured and used has led some manufacturers to reduce or eliminate the amount of diacetyl in some kinds of flavorings, foods, and beverages. They have begun to use substitutes such as acetyl propionyl (2,3 pentanedione) and acetoin. These substitutes, some of which are structurally similar to diacetyl, have not been well-studied and there is growing concern that they also pose health risks for workers. There is additional concern that combinations of chemicals may increase the harm.
OSHA does not have permissible exposure limits (PELs) for most flavoring substances, including diacetyl and acetoin. The SHIB provides recommendations for controlling exposure to diacetyl, diacetyl substitutes and other flavorings to protect employees from serious respiratory disease.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
More Evidence Mounts That TSA Scanners Are Dangerous
How much radiation is just too much and an additional risk for cancer is the question now posed by scientists concerned about TSA scanners. The scanners emit radiation in one form or another that is where the issues gets hot.
"Ionizing means it knocks the electrons out of your body, which breaks your DNA chain, which can cause death or cancer...."
Read: Cancer concerns mount over TSA body scanner
Friday, February 1, 2013
Universal Medical and Workers' Compensation: It's Not "If", It's "When" - California
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is going to definitely change the landscape of medical delivery over the coming future. Medical care afforded by workers' compensation delivery systems will ultimately be merged into a universal national program, despite all the opposition along the way.
My friend, and cycling inspiration, who keeps me trying to think I can enter the Tour de France while under the influence of Starbucks coffee, David DePaolo, points out that the "fusion" may be coming slowly through legislation of unintended consequences in California.
Every time the lobbyists think that have eliminated the imminent threat of Federal intrusion, ie. Enactment of The SMART Act, the reality of which is that the regulations will eat up the statute, and also their lunch. I plan to write more on The SMART Act in the coming weeks. Maybe that wasn't so smart after all for the cottage industries that supported it.
My friend, and cycling inspiration, who keeps me trying to think I can enter the Tour de France while under the influence of Starbucks coffee, David DePaolo, points out that the "fusion" may be coming slowly through legislation of unintended consequences in California.
"The concept of universal care, 24 hour care, single stop shop, etc. has been floating for a couple of decades now with very little progress.David, an expert in analyzing what's around the curve, sees the next wave of change coming to workers' compensation. For so many reasons, including the expansion/reimbursement integration of the Medicare program, the writing is on the wall on this one.
"But the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the signing of HB 1 back in February 2009, and other Federal health related laws and regulations including ERISA, have accelerated the fusion of workers' compensation medicine and general health medicine. Outsourcing MPN [Medical Provider Networks] oversight to a health care related agency is just another step towards this outcome.
Every time the lobbyists think that have eliminated the imminent threat of Federal intrusion, ie. Enactment of The SMART Act, the reality of which is that the regulations will eat up the statute, and also their lunch. I plan to write more on The SMART Act in the coming weeks. Maybe that wasn't so smart after all for the cottage industries that supported it.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Court Rules Site of Accident Invokes Exclusivity Rule
"The causal nexus between the accident and plaintiff's employment is manifestly established. It is inconsequential that she, like the plaintiff in Ramos, had arrived early to drink her morning coffee and ease into her workday before performing her work functions. The nexus to plaintiff's employment is more than sufficient here to conclude that the Act provides the exclusive means to compensate her for her injuries."
TAWANNA FLOYD v.CAROL VON NEUDECK, DOCKET NO. A–3855–10T2, Not Reported in A.3d, 2012 WL 2094063 (N.J.Super.A.D.) Decided June 12, 2012.
Related articles
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
The dean of American labor reporters explains everything
Last week, veteran New York Times labor reporter Steven Greenhouse — widely regarded as the oldest hand on a beat that’s waned with the power of organized labor itself — announced he was taking a buyout, and will work on another book about workers (the last one is six years old, after all). We caught up with him to talk about his last three decades covering American workers.
How did you get into covering labor? My parents were very active in the civil rights movement, they had me listening to Pete Seeger when I was growing up. I guess growing up in New York, you were kind of alert to what was happening in labor. The people who participated in the March on Washington in 1963, the person who led that was A. Philip Randolph of the Sleeping Car Porters Union. So I guess I was more attuned to labor than many other people. You went to law school and did a stint clerking for a federal judge. Why leave law to do journalism? My first job out of college was as a lackey copy boy at the New York Times, sorting mail, getting coffee. I did that for a year, and after that applied to law school and journalism school. I got into Columbia Journalism School and NYU Law School, and decided to go to journalism school. Then I worked for a year at the Chelsea-Clinton News — that’s Hells Kitchen — and then I went to the Bergen Record, and the Hackensack Record, where... |
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Warehouse Workers Are At Risk By Company Safety Violations
Warehouse worker suffer unique risks associated with their employment. Many warehouse workers suffer injuries at work that lead to seriously disabling Worker’s Compensation claims. U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has taken a major step in enforcing regulations in Jersey City,New Jersey, in an effort to make the work environment safer.
OSHA has cited Continental Terminals Inc. for nine serious and two willful safety violations at the company's Jersey City facility. Inspectors were notified of alleged hazards at the facility while they were inspecting another Continental facility in Kearny. Proposed penalties total $130,900.
The willful violations involve not protecting workers by allowing them to ride on the forks of forklifts, where they were exposed to falls of 10 feet, and permitting them to work on elevated platforms devoid of guardrails. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowledge or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. The citations carry $98,000 in penalties. The serious violations include having exit doors that were sealed shut, allowing damaged powered industrial trucks to be operated, stacking materials insecurely, not having a hazard communication program, using damaged electrical cords and not labeling electrical panels. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. The citations carry $32,900 in penalties.
"Because fall hazards are among the leading cause of death among workers, it is vital that employers provide workers with proper fall protection," said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA's Parsippany Area Office. "Employers are responsible for ensuring safe and healthful workplaces, and will be held legally accountable when they fail to do so."
The citations can be viewed at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/Continental_408905_1026_12.pdf.*
Continental Terminals Inc. is a coffee and cocoa warehouse business that employs 10 workers at its Jersey City site; it was recently fined $162,400 by OSHA for safety violations at its Kearny site. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with the OSHA area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.In April, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced a campaign to provide employers and workers with lifesaving information and educational materials about working safely from ladders, scaffolds and roofs in an effort to prevent deadly falls in the construction industry. In 2010, more than 10,000 construction workers were injured as a result of falling while working from heights, and more than 250 workers were killed. OSHA's fall prevention campaign was developed in partnership with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and NIOSH's National Occupational Research Agenda program. More information on fall protection standards is available in English and Spanish at http://www.osha.gov/stopfalls.
Read more about "forklifts"
Sep 21, 2012
Forklift injuries produce serious workers' compensation claims, so it is no surprise that the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is acutely concerned about forklift safety rule ...
Jun 21, 2012
... include failing to perform a personal protective equipment hazard assessment; provide an eyewash station for workers exposed to corrosive chemicals; provide fire extinguisher training; provide training for forklift operators; ...
Nov 08, 2012
Forklift injuries produce serious workers' compensation claims, so it is no surprise that the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is acutely concerned about forklift safety rule .
Jan 24, 2010
An attorney for an injured worker quickly requested that a potentially defective forklift be preserved, but did not hastily have an expert conduct a physical inspection. Ciapinski v Crown Equipment Corp., 2010 WL 183903 (N.J. ...
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Expectations Must Adapt to Change
In the "old days" the US workers' compensation system, meet or "exceeded exceptions." Looking backward we recognize an aggressive and dedicated work ethic, that the government, private industry and labor," managed to embrace into a "Grand Bargain" called Workers' Compensation.
Times have changed. In the past the corporate and executive workplace was a formal "tie and jacket" environment. Seasoned member always gripe how things have changed for the worse and long for a return to the comforting and familiar "good old times."
Times have changed. In the past the corporate and executive workplace was a formal "tie and jacket" environment. Seasoned member always gripe how things have changed for the worse and long for a return to the comforting and familiar "good old times."
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