Arbitration Enforced Despite Language Barrier

A federal court in New Jersey has compelled arbitration in a case involving a Spanish-speaking employee who alleged disability discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, and workers' compensation retaliation. despite the fact that she could not read or understand the English-language arbitration agreement she signed.

New Jersey's ABC Test Gets Official Rules

New Jersey's Department of Labor and Workforce Development has adopted N.J.A.C. 12:11, a sweeping new set of rules that codify how the state's nearly 90-year-old ABC test is applied to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. This is a landmark development for workers' compensation practitioners, employers, and every worker performing services in the Garden State.

CMS Tightens WCMSA Compliance Rules

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released Version 4.5 of the Workers' Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Arrangement (WCMSA) Reference Guide, dated April 13, 2026 (COBR-Q2-2026-v4.5). While the technical updates in this version are modest, they come amid sweeping enforcement changes that every workers' compensation practitioner must understand.

OSHA Violations: Workers’ Compensation Impact

A willful OSHA violation is serious, but in New Jersey, it is not a magic key that unlocks the door to civil litigation against an employer. Over a decade after the New Jersey Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Van Dunk v. Reckson Associates Realty Corp., 210 N.J. 449 (2012), that foundational principle remains firmly in place and continues to shape how injured workers, employers, and practitioners navigate the intersection of OSHA enforcement and the workers’ compensation system.

Marijuana Rescheduled: Workers' New Rights

The Trump Administration has made history. On April 23, 2026, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order immediately placing both FDA-approved products containing marijuana and marijuana products regulated by a state medical marijuana license in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. 

Roundup's Reach: Workers' Compensation at Stake

Today the Supreme Court heard one of the most consequential pesticide preemption cases in decades. At stake: whether state failure-to-warn claims against Monsanto's Roundup herbicide are preempted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The Court's eventual ruling will send shockwaves through workers' compensation and occupational disease litigation nationwide.

Pabst Brews a Legal Storm

On April 15, 2026, the Wisconsin Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling that will reverberate through asbestos litigation, workers’ compensation law, and premises liability for years to come. In Estate of Carol Lorbiecki v. Pabst Brewing Co., 2026 WI 12, the court held that a brewery owner could be found liable under Wisconsin’s Safe Place Statute for a steamfitter’s fatal mesothelioma, even though the worker was employed by an independent contractor, not by Pabst. The decision affirms a $6.9 million judgment, including punitive damages, and clarifies important principles governing the rights of workers exposed to occupational hazards on third-party premises.