NJ Supreme Court to Review Workplace Insurance Exclusion

The NJ Supreme Court will review whether a workers’ compensation insurance company has a duty to defend an employer against personal injury claims brought by the employer’s employee under an employer's liability insurance policy.

Trench Injury Not an Intentional Wrong

A Federal Court held that injuries sustained while cleaning a trench conveyor trim removal system at a paper manufacturing facility did not meet the threshold test for an intentional tort.

OSHA Proposes a Workplace Heat Standard

OSHA’s proposed new workplace heat standard requires employers to develop a plan to identify and address heat hazards. This plan must include monitoring heat conditions, providing water, and training employees about heat safety. The standard also sets requirements for acclimatization for new and returning employees.

Bill Proposes to Increase Benefits for Some Injured Workers and Dependents

Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia filed legislation to institute additional workers' compensation supplemental benefits on June 13, 2024, and Assemblyman Inganamort co-sponsored it. 

Long Overdue Public Safety Worker Coverage

Legislation has been reintroduced to provide workers’ compensation benefits for certain public safety workers who developed an occupational illness or injury flowing from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. A closer look at the legislation reveals that it removes defenses such as causal relationship, statute of limitations, and jurisdiction. Complicated statutory and regulatory challenges may ultimately offset the benefits offered. 

NJ Expands Compensation Benefits for First Responders

NJ Governor Phil Murphy signed A-5909/S-4267, which revises workers' compensation coverage for certain injuries to certain volunteer and professional public safety and law enforcement personnel. The bill amends current workers’ compensation law to add that a response to an emergency, including work sufficient to cause certain injuries or death, is compensable.

Household Contact Awarded $30 Million Verdict for Mesothelioma

Employers have a responsibility not only to their employees but also to their household contacts, individuals who live in the employee’s home. Employees who are exposed at work may carry the toxic substances home on their clothes or their body.

Long COVID-Related Illness is a Significant Cause of Death

Long COVID-Related deaths are statistically significant and will be reflected in an increase in workers' compensation dependency awards. More Than 3,500 Americans Have Died from Long COVID-Related Illness in the First 30 Months of the Pandemic. 

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 Fréquences [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.”

Water Breaks for Construction Workers

 A Texas judge has blocked a new state law prohibiting local governments from requiring water breaks for construction workers. House Bill 2127 law was set to effect on Friday, September 1, 2023.

President Biden Announces New Actions to Protect Workers from Extreme Heat

Millions of American workers are currently experiencing the effects of extreme heat, which is growing in intensity, frequency, and duration due to the climate crisis. President Biden requests the Department of Labor to issue Hazard Alerts for Heat and take other actions to protect workers from extreme heat. 

OSHA Cites Main Line Contractor Corp. of Newark NJ for 21 Violations and $333,052 in Penalties

A series of inspections by the U.S. Department of Labor has found a Newark-based construction contractor defying federal safety regulations by exposing employees to more than 20 violations, including potentially deadly falls, at six southern and central New Jersey work sites in early 2023.

California Supreme Court Bars Household Contact Covid Claims

Today, the California Supreme Court decided that the Workers’ Compensation Act [WCA] did not bar a derivative claim. However, using a public policy rationale, it did not extend an employer's duty of care to an employee's household contacts who contracted COVID-19.

Insurance Agent's Conduct Determines Liability for Failure to Inform an Employer of Workers' Compensation Coverage Options

The NJ Supreme court held that the insurance agent's conduct must be a willful, wanton, or grossly negligent act of commission or omission for failure to advise an employer about workers' compensation coverage for a Limited Liability Corporation.

US Supreme Court Allows State Law to Govern Willful Misconduct Cases Under the PREP Act

The US Supreme Court [SCOTUS] has declined to review whether the PREP Act [The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act of 2005, 42 U.S.C. §§ 247d-6d, 247d-6e] pre-empts a claim for willful misconduct, GLENHAVEN HEALTHCARE LLC v. Saldana, Supreme Court 2022. On appeal,  Saldana v. Glenhaven Healthcare LLC, 27 F. 4th 679 - Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit 2022

US Supreme Court Asked to Review PREP Act Immunity

The US Supreme Court [SCOTUS] has been asked to review whether the PREP Act [The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act of 2005, 42 U.S.C. §§ 247d-6d, 247d-6e] pre-empts a claim for willful misconduct,

New Laws in NJ Are a Step to Reduce Gun Violence in the Workplace

Gun violence in the workplace continues to be a significant occupational hazard. Whether it occurs on the work premises or carriers over to an off-premises location, gun violence remains a continuing risk associated with a job,

NJ Supreme Court Enhances Workplace Safety and Adopts an Updated Standard for Medical Causation

A divided NJ Supreme Court upheld a verdict for an employee who suffered mesothelioma, a fatal cancer, as a result of a product manufacturer’s failure to warn of the lethal nature of the product in the workplace. The Court acknowledged that even minor exposure to asbestos could cause disease.

EPA Proposes to Ban Ongoing Uses of Asbestos

In a historic step, the US Environmental Protection Administration [EPA] is moving to protect people from cancer risks and is moving to ban asbestos in the US. The EPA has proposed its first-ever risk management rule under the 2016 Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act.

OSHA fines New Jersey company $130,000 for methylene chloride violations

 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a New Jersey company $130,000 for methylene chloride violations. Exposure to paint strippers containing methylene chloride remains a severe health concern for workers. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently refused to extend the United States Environmental Protection [EPA] agency's regulations to cover methylene chloride in the commercial setting.