Deadly Rollback: Asbestos Unprotected

FDA withdraws talc testing rule amid growing health concerns.

Teachers Are Essential Workers

New Jersey Supreme Court affirms Workers' Compensation protections for educators who contracted COVID-19.

WCMSA Gap Widens Dramatically

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its fiscal year 2025 statistics for Workers' Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Arrangements (WCMSAs), revealing a striking trend that should concern workers' compensation professionals: the gap between what parties propose and what CMS recommends is at an all-time high.

Flu Season's Hidden Workers' Compensation Cost

As healthcare facilities across the nation report surging respiratory illness cases, the spotlight has turned once again to protecting those on the front lines of medicine. Recent surveillance data reveal a troubling trend: flu activity is increasing rapidly across the United States, with cases and hospitalizations rising by 78% and 53% respectively, in some states, while emergency department visits for influenza have more than doubled in certain regions.

Mass Layoffs Hit New Jersey

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act continues to serve as an early warning system for mass layoffs across New Jersey, and the 2025 data reveals troubling trends that demand attention from policymakers, business leaders, and workers alike.

Workers' Compensation Bar Prevails

The New Jersey Appellate Division affirms the exclusivity of workers' compensation in a workplace-fall case.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Podcast: Chevron Falls: Workers' Compensation Survives

This podcast reviews the workers' compensation landscape one year after the US Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, which struck down the Chevron defense.

New Jersey's Workplace Safety Wins

A data-driven examination of seven years of workers' compensation trends reveals encouraging progress—and work still needs to be done.

Chevron Falls: Workers' Compensation Survives

A year ago, we examined how the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo might reshape the workers' compensation landscape, particularly regarding Medicare Set-Aside (MSA) agreements and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) administration of the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Act. Now, with twelve months of hindsight, we can assess what has actually transpired—and what remains uncertain.

Healthcare Crisis Threatens Workers' Compensation

The American healthcare system is approaching a breaking point that will have profound implications for employers and workers' compensation insurers. As healthcare costs spiral out of control and insurance becomes increasingly unaffordable, a growing number of workers are entering the workplace with untreated medical conditions that will significantly amplify the severity and cost of work-related injuries.

Sherrill's Win Locks In Worker Protections

Under the Democratic leadership of Governor Phil Murphy, New Jersey began a distinct, liberalizing shift in the application of its Workers' Compensation statute. Rather than a total systemic overhaul, the Murphy administration enacted targeted legislation that expanded coverage and lowered the burden of proof for key segments of the workforce.

Workplace Toxins: A Hidden Epidemic

In his groundbreaking new book, The Formula for Better Health: How to Save Millions of Lives—Including Your Own, former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden draws on decades of experience leading public health efforts to reveal how to defeat the world's deadliest diseases. While the book covers many health threats, its principles are particularly relevant to one of America's most overlooked crises: occupational exposure to toxic substances.

Clocks and Dangers: Daylight Saving Time and the Spike in Workplace Injuries

Most people in the United States look forward to Daylight Saving Time (DST) every spring. We lose an hour of sleep but gain an extra hour of evening sunshine. While the sunnier evenings are enjoyable, the biannual switch to DST continues to pose a significant and measurable danger to workplace safety, a risk confirmed by over a decade of research.

New Jersey 2026 Rate Relief

Understanding the Latest Workers' Compensation Changes and Second Injury Fund Adjustments

The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance has approved significant changes to workers' compensation rates effective January 1, 2026, bringing mixed news for employers across the Garden State. While overall rates are decreasing, the Second Injury Fund contribution has increased notably, impacting the bottom line.

Special Employee or Not? Court Decides

A New Jersey appellate court recently overturned a legal malpractice ruling by clarifying when police officers on "extra duty" assignments become "special employees" under workers' compensation law. The October 2025 decision in Dutcher v. Stathis provides important guidance for determining employment status.

Amazon's Misclassification Strips Workers' Safety Net

When a back injury should mean temporary disability benefits, but instead means choosing between rent and recovery—that's the hidden cost of worker misclassification. New Jersey's recent lawsuit against Amazon exposes how labeling employees as independent contractors strips away critical workers' compensation protections, leaving injured workers financially vulnerable during their most precarious moments.

PTSD Officer's Disability Claim Denied

In a decision that highlights the complex intersection of severe mental trauma and disability law, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey recently affirmed the denial of Social Security disability benefits to a former police officer suffering from Post Tramatic Stress Disorder [PTSD] after someone put a contract on his life.

Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Long COVID

 New Jersey Workers' Compensation Benefits for Long COVID: A Comprehensive Update

Understanding Your Rights Under New Jersey's Enhanced Protections for Essential Workers

Understanding Diacetyl: A Workplace Health Concern

Workers in food manufacturing are getting sick from exposure to chemicals called diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione. These artificial flavoring chemicals are used to add a buttery taste and smell to foods. Exposed workers are developing serious lung diseases, and many are now filing lawsuits against the companies that make these flavorings.