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.
Copyright
Monday, April 27, 2026
Saturday, April 25, 2026
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.
EPA Sued Over Asbestos
On April 21, 2026, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its Administrator Lee Zeldin in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The complaint, filed as Case No. 1:26-cv-01350, seeks to compel the EPA to fulfill a mandatory, non-discretionary duty under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), a duty that has gone unfulfilled for over a year, leaving millions of workers and their families exposed to the continuing hazard of legacy asbestos.
Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Thursday, March 26, 2026
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Friday, March 20, 2026
Workplace Disease & Household Liability
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Occupational Hearing Loss: Still a Loud Problem
Workplace hearing loss has been called one of the most prevalent — and preventable — occupational health crises in the United States. Despite decades of federal regulation, improved hearing protection technology, and increased employer awareness, the numbers remain staggering.
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Dying at Work — Who's Counting?
Workplace fatality data, political interference, and the workers left behind.
Sunday, February 22, 2026
Glyphosate: Workers at Risk
The collision of a presidential executive order, a $7.25 billion proposed settlement, and decades of occupational health research has placed glyphosate-based herbicides at the center of one of the most consequential legal and workplace safety debates in American history. For employers, insurers, and the millions of workers who handle these chemicals daily, the stakes have never been higher.
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Roundup Justice: Workers Negotiate a Settlement
Monsanto's Landmark Roundup Settlement — What It Means for Workers and Their Families - $7.25 Billion Dollars
Eat Well, Claim Less
This is an updated and expanded edition of a 2014 post on diet and workplace health, revised with current research and data.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Hidden Hazards at Work
The chemicals you work with every day might be poisoning you—and their identities are legally hidden. Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), thousands of industrial chemicals remain shrouded in confidentiality, making it nearly impossible for workers to know what they're being exposed to and extremely difficult to prove workers' compensation claims when illness strikes.
Monday, February 9, 2026
Gelman on Workers' Compensation Law 2026 Update Now Available
Jon Gelman's newly revised and updated treatise on Workers' Compensation Law 2026 has been published by Thomson Reuters of Eagan, MN. This marks the 40th annual supplement to the New Jersey Practice Series on Workers' Compensation Law. The treatise is the most comprehensive, research-integrated work, on Workers' Compensation law, and is fully integrated with Westlaw.
Monday, February 2, 2026
Healthcare Costs Crush Workers' Compensation
The cost of medical treatment is not just rising — it is accelerating. And nowhere is this felt more sharply than in the workers' compensation system, where medical payments now constitute a dominant and growing share of every claim. What was a slow-burning crisis a decade ago has become an urgent structural challenge for employers, insurers, policymakers, and injured workers alike.
Friday, January 30, 2026
NJ Workers' Compensation Gets Advocate
Governor Sherrill's pick for Labor Commissioner signals stronger protections for injured workers.
NJ Workers' Compensation: Major Changes Ahead
NJ Workers' Compensation-related bills introduced January 13, 2026 - Currently in committee review
Thursday, January 29, 2026
Chemical Glove Selection is Critical
How Proper Hand Protection Impacts Workers' Compensation Benefits