Copyright

(c) 2010-2024 Jon L Gelman, All Rights Reserved.
Showing posts sorted by date for query apple. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query apple. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Friday, August 9, 2024

Google Antitrust Ruling: Reshaping Workers' Comp Tech Landscape

On Monday, a federal judge ruled that Google had acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search. This landmark decision strikes at the power of tech giants in the modern internet era and may fundamentally alter how they do business.

Thursday, March 21, 2024

The New York Game: A Baseball Tale Steeped in Labor Struggles

Kevin Baker's "The New York Game" isn't just a love letter to baseball and the Big Apple. It's a rich tapestry that weaves the evolution of America's pastime with the burgeoning organized labor movement and the fight for workplace safety. While baseball takes center stage, Baker doesn't shy away from the harsh realities early ballplayers face.

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Occupational Exposure to Cellphone Radiation

Last week, the French government requested that Apple stop selling the iPhone 12 model because of excessive radiation detected during recent tests. The Agence National des FrĂ©quences [ANFR] stated that “…Apple must immediately take all measures to prevent the availability on the market of the phones concerned present in the supply chain. Regarding phones already sold, Apple must take corrective measures as soon as possible to make the phones concerned compliant. Otherwise, it will be up to Apple to recall them.”

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

NJ CRIB Policy Coverage Mobile App

The New Jersey Compensation, Rating and Inspection Bureau [NJCRIB] has released a mobile app to ascertain workers' compensation insurance policy data.

Friday, January 22, 2021

Is the workers' compensation system ready for the COVID-19 [coronavirus] virus? Live Updates

It seems that every decade a new pandemic emerges on the world scene, and complacency continues to exist in the workers’ compensation arena to meet the emerging challenges of infectious disease.

Thursday, October 1, 2020

NJ & NY Launch Apps to Help Prevent the Spread of Covid-19

Governor Phil Murphy and New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the launch of COVID-19 exposure notification mobile apps in their respective states that will serve as crucial tools to supplement the effort to trace and contact individuals subject to a COVID exposure. 

Friday, April 10, 2020

HHS Relaxes HIPAA Rules During COVID Pandemic

The US Department of Health and Human Services has published a “Notification of Enforcement Discretion for Telehealth Remote Communications During the COVID-19 Nationwide Public Health Emergency,” that eases the enforcement of medical record privacy. As workers’ compensation providers increasingly employ electronic communication with their patients, these rules will have a major impact on how medical care is provided.

Saturday, February 15, 2020

The Compensability of a Cellphone Radiation Exposure


A pending case in California may have significant impact on potential workers’ compensation claims throughout the country. The case involves the causal relationship of radio frequency [RF] radiation emitted by cellphones and human cancer. Cohen v. Apple, Inc., et. al, Case 5:19-cv-05322 (Filed 08/23/19) USDCT-North District California - San Jose Division.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Made by a robot...driven by a computer

The workers' compensation scheme is being challenged to potential extinction by the workplace in which it was created decades ago. Stressed by economic challenges that have been fueled by globalization and technology, workers' compensation benefit programs are now being dismantled by historic reforms that attack the core philosophical  principles of its very existence. 

The evolving dynamic of the world's automobile industry provides a focus on the new economy where goods are made by robots and operated by a computer.

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." 

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

It is not "How," It is "When"

Judge David Langham wrote a very enlightening blog post today about how advancing technology is impacting the world and more particularly the workers' compensation arena. As usual, he is right on target with the issue that is going to have the most influence over our changing world.

The Judge mentioned the advent of driverless technology. Ironically, it is national Distracted Driving Awareness Month. If you are driving about the State of New York with a phone in your hand you'll most likely get a ticket for sure this week. The driverless car is already under development with a target for production by major corporations such as Apple by the year 2020. In California Google already has test vehicles on the road.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Does Workers' Compensation Really Have a Place in the iEverything World?

I started my day watching the video of the launch of Apple's iWatch. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, and his team never disappoints with the rollout of amazing new technology. Even the non-believers will be enthralled.

The implementation of Apple's technology is based upon widespread adoption. In the case of linking the iPhone and the iWatch to an iEverything platform they are relying upon the basic instinct for humans to survive and live healthier and longer.

Apple is making a massive move into medicine on a global basis. They are expanding internationally on all fronts including research projects with the world's top medical facilities and training institutions. It is awesome.

Apple is adopting to the changing world. It is helping to change the world simultaneously. The tech company is not stagnated by old technology or systems.

The nation's workers' compensation program is a century old. The system was a good fit for an old market. The system created in 1911 worked well in times that no longer exists today.

I can't get onto my computer without reading about the workers' compensation system being pounded by all factions and stakeholders. The elements and issues that created the nation's workers' compensation program for the most part no longer exist.

Robert Reich wrote this week that technological advancements have automated the workplace. Fewer people are required to do tasks and that number decreases daily. "New technologies aren’t just labor-replacing. They’re also knowledge-replacing."

Last week I had the opportunity to hear Thomas Friedman, Foreign Affairs Columnist of the NY Times, speak about how the world has changed only in the last couple of decades. He talked about what must be done today to meet the realities of the future.

Friedman reflected on Moore's Law,  named after the co-founder of Intel Corporation, Gordon E. Moore. Moore observed that the speed and power of microchips will double every 24 months.

"The really big thing that just happened" Thomas Friedman observed is that, "the Market, Mother Nature and Moore's Law, just went into hyper-acceleration." 

When you apply the observations of both Reich and Friedman to a century-old social remedial program operating as workers' compensation,  a basic question arises. Does the present workers' compensation system really have a place any longer in the iEverything world?





Saturday, December 20, 2014

Apple 'failing to protect Chinese factory workers'

Today's post is shared from bbc.com/

Poor treatment of workers in Chinese factories which make Apple products has been discovered by an undercover BBC Panorama investigation.

Filming on an iPhone 6 production line showed Apple's promises to protect workers were routinely broken.

It found standards on workers' hours, ID cards, dormitories, work meetings and juvenile workers were being breached at the Pegatron factories.

Apple said it strongly disagreed with the programme's conclusions.

Exhausted workers were filmed falling asleep on their 12-hour shifts at the Pegatron factories on the outskirts of Shanghai.

One undercover reporter, working in a factory making parts for Apple computers, had to work 18 days in a row despite repeated requests for a day off.

Another reporter, whose longest shift was 16 hours, said: "Every time I got back to the dormitories, I wouldn't want to move.

"Even if I was hungry I wouldn't want to get up to eat. I just wanted to lie down and rest. I was unable to sleep at night because of the stress."

'Continuous improvement'

Apple declined to be interviewed for the programme, but said in a statement: "We are aware of no other company doing as much as Apple to ensure fair and safe working conditions.

"We work with suppliers to address shortfalls, and we see continuous and significant improvement, but we know our work is never done."

Apple said it...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]


….

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.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Designed in Cupertino: Apple under fire again for working conditions at Chinese factories


Apple had promised to improve working conditions in its suppliers' factories.

Holding US companies accountable for unsafe working conditions abroad is a major challenge. Does cheap labor equate to poor working conditions? Is China more interested in providing an abundance of jobs  than a safe workplace as and more immigrants flock to the cities every year for work?Ares cheap and unsafe  labor conditions really a political tool as a defense to revolution? Today's post is shared from theguardian.com/

Workers in Chinese factories making Apple products continue to be poorly treated, with exhausted employees falling asleep on their 12-hour shifts, the BBC has said after an undercover investigation.
Reporters who took jobs at the Pegatron factories found workers regularly exceeded 60 hours a week – contravening the company’s guidance – and that standards on ID cards, dormitories, work meetings and juvenile workers were also breached.
The broadcaster said promises made by Apple to protect workers in the wake of a spate of suicides at supplier Foxconn in 2010 were “routinely broken”.
Apple said that it disagreed with the BBC’s conclusions.
The BBC filmed a health and safety exam at a Pegatron factory in which workers chanted out answers in unison, meaning there was little chance of failing.
The footage also appeared to show workers had no choice to opt out of doing night shifts or working while standing.
One reporter had to work 18 days in a row despite repeated requests for a day off, the BBC reported.
In response to the programme, Apple told the BBC: “We are aware of no other company doing as much as Apple to ensure fair and safe working conditions.
“We work with suppliers to address shortfalls, and we see continuous and significant improvement, but we know our work is never done.”
The company said it was common for workers to sleep during breaks but it would investigate whether they were falling asleep while working.
It said it...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Read more about Apple and safety and health
Dec 13, 2013
Death of Apple factory workers highlight safety, underage issues ... Pegatron and Apple said their investigations indicated that the deaths weren't linked to work conditions. In response to Shi's death, Apple last month sent ...
Jun 13, 2013
Transportation accidents account for a high proportion of work-related fatalities, and Apple's announcement with week of increasing the access of iCar-Technology into the automobile is raising serious concerns among safety ...
Jan 18, 2013
In a turn of fate, the company who anufatures football safety gear has itself been sited for serious safety vilations at its own manufacturing facilities. The apple certainly doesn't fall far from the tree. The U.S. Department of ...
Jan 18, 2012
The recently released annual Apple Supplier Report discusses production safety and health issues of Apple's global international suppliers. Admitting many problems including health and safety violations, including an ...

Friday, November 21, 2014

Genetic Testing and the Need for a Federal Regulation

Today's post is shared from jurist.com/
The one dream that will never fade is falling in love, marrying the love of your life and starting a family. Now, imagine John and Jane Doe, a couple who fell in love in high school and got happily married after years of dating. The only thing missing to complete their fairytale romance was a family. After many unsuccessful attempts, the couple soon learned that they were infertile. Seeking help from the medical profession, they learned about the use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) to enhance their chances of becoming parents.
Pursuing the ART method, John and Jane found a donor whose sperm or eggs they wanted to use. They were assured from the sperm or egg bank that they chose a donor that had undergone careful screening and had been tested for health problems as required by law. Based on these assurances, the couple conceived using the donated reproductive tissue (DRT) that they procured from the bank and successfully gave birth to twins. Shortly after birth, both twins were diagnosed with a life threatening genetic disorder. This unfortunate outcome is the sad reality that arises from inadequate federal regulation of DRT in ART fertility treatments.
ART treatments entail surgically removing eggs from a woman's ovaries, combining them with sperm in the laboratory and returning them to the woman's body or implanting them in another woman's body. In the US alone, 20,000-30,000 babies a year are conceived (PDF) using...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Distracted Drivers and Rising Workers’ Comp Claims

Today's post was shared by Trucker Lawyers and comes from www.sadlerco.com



Distracted driving
Distracted driving

Such accidents are among the leading causes of high-severity Workers’ Compensation injuries.  According to the National Safety Council, the average work-related motor vehicle injury claim costs an average of $69,206. That’s double the cost of other work-related injuries. The lack of training in safe driving techniques is a primary factor of work-related driving accidents. But you can’t have this discussion without putting particular focus on distracted drivers.
A distracted driver is one who is engaged in any activity that diverts his or her attention from the primary task of driving. All distractions put drivers, passengers, and bystanders at risk. Common activities that cause driver distractions are, in no particular order:
  • Text messaging
  • Use of a cell phone
  • Eating or drinking
  • Talking to passengers
  • Grooming
  • Reading
  • Use of a navigation system
  • Adjusting  radio, CD player, or MP3 player
Who are these distracted drivers?
It’s been proven that the visual, manual, and cognitive attention required for text messaging makes it the most dangerous driving distraction. How likely is it that you or your employees could be included in the following statistics and facts below?
  • Drivers in their 20s make up 27 percent of the distracted drivers in...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Pets Allowed



The author takes an alpaca to the drugstore. There’s a lot of confusion about what emotional-support animals can legally do.

The author takes an alpaca to the drugstore. There’s a lot of confusion 
about what emotional-support animals can legally do. 
Credit Photograph by Robin Siegel

The author discusses "Service-Dogs" and "Emotional-Support Animals" [ESA]. Today's interesting post is shared from newyorker.com

What a wonderful time it is for the scammer, the conniver, and the cheat: the underage drinkers who flash fake I.D.s, the able-bodied adults who drive cars with handicapped license plates, the parents who use a phony address so that their child can attend a more desirable public school, the customers with eleven items who stand in the express lane. The latest group to bend the law is pet owners.
Take a look around. See the St. Bernard slobbering over the shallots at Whole Foods? Isn’t that a Rottweiler sitting third row, mezzanine, at Carnegie Hall? As you will have observed, an increasing number of your neighbors have been keeping company with their pets in human-only establishments, cohabiting with them in animal-unfriendly apartment buildings and dormitories, and taking them (free!) onto airplanes—simply by claiming that the creatures are their licensed companion animals and are necessary to their mental well-being. No government agency keeps track of such figures, but in 2011 the National Service Animal Registry, a commercial enterprise that sells certificates, vests, and badges for helper animals, signed up twenty-four hundred emotional-support animals. Last year, it registered eleven thousand.
What about the mental well-being of everyone else? One person’s emotional support can be...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Monday, October 6, 2014

Google to Make Security Guards Employees, Rather Than Contractors

Looks like Google is searching for the safe side of employment status. Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from blogs.wsj.com

In a move that could reverberate around Silicon Valley, Google plans to hire more than 200 security guards as its own employees, rather than through an outside contractor.

The guards will be eligible for the same benefits as other Googlers, including health insurance, retirement benefits, on-site medical services, leave for new parents and more.

The move comes amid rising concerns about income disparities in the San Francisco Bay Area. A think tank with ties to organized labor issued a report in August highlighting the differences in pay, benefits and working conditions between tech-company employees and service workers such as security guards, janitors and landscapers who primarily work for outside contractors.

Google’s moves on social issues can be influential. Several other Silicon Valley heavyweights, including Facebook and Apple , released details on the gender and racial composition of their workforces after Google did so in June.

“Building an in-house security team is something we are excited to do,” said a Google spokeswoman in a statement. “A year ago we in-sourced the Google security operations center and we are looking forward to making these valued positions both full- and part-time Google employees.”

Google said its contractor providing security guards, Security Industry Specialists, Inc., will continue to work with the search giant...


[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Friday, October 3, 2014

NTSB: Truck showed no signs of trying to avoid North Texas softball team's bus

Today's post was shared by Take Justice Back and comes from www.dallasnews.com

Investigators in the Oklahoma crash that killed four women’s softball players from North Central Texas College said Sunday that the truck showed no signs of braking or maneuvering out of the way before it slammed into the team’s bus.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators said Sunday that the truck drove through the median for 820 feet on a shallow angle before colliding with the bus. It did not brake or appear to take any action to avoid the crash. They found no apparent problems with the truck’s brakes.
The 18-wheeler veered across the Interstate 35 median near Davis and crashed into the team’s bus late Friday. The team’s head coach Van Hedrick was driving 15 players back from a scrimmage against Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Okla., when they were hit by about 9 p.m. Friday, authorities said.
Three women died at the scene, and one died at an area hospital. All were from Texas.
The NTSB is assisting Oklahoma Highway Patrol in the investigation. They obtained search warrants for the truck and bus. The investigation will include toxicology reports of both drivers and could take months.
Investigators will turn over the results to the local district attorney, who will decide whether to pursue criminal charges.
The Highway Patrol identified those who died as Meagan Richardson, 19, of Wylie; Brooke Deckard, 20, of Blue Ridge in Collin County; Jaiden Pelton, 20, of Telephone in Fannin County; and Katelynn...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Friday, September 26, 2014

Florida carrier shut down by FMCSA ignoring hours, maintenance rules

Today's post was shared by Trucker Lawyers and comes from www.overdriveonline.com

Two former trucking company owners pleaded guilty Aug. 19 to violating shutdown orders issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in a reincarnated carrier ...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued an imminent hazard out-of-service order to the Grand Ridge, Fla.-based Ken’s Trucking, a 33-truck fleet that hauls general freight and refrigerated food, the agency announced Sept. 18.
An investigation into the company revealed “numerous widespread violations of safety regulations,” the agency said in its announcement.
In the last 12 months, Ken’s Trucking has been involved in five recordable crashes, FMCSA says, and 29 of its drivers received 15 citations for speeding and 10 other traffic citations.
Related
FMCSA says it has suspended the authority of Espinal Trucking, based in Michigan City, for not cooperating with an investigation into its compliance history following ...

FMCSA says the carrier did not properly oversee and maintain driver qualification files, including medical certification and driving violation records, and it allowed drivers who tested positive for drug use — and with suspended CDLs — to operate its vehicles.
It also failed to ensure hours-of-service compliance of its drivers and did not properly maintain its...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]