Phones Off, Court On

New Jersey reaffirms a near-total ban on recording workers' compensation proceedings.

Flames That Forged Justice

 The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and the Birth of American Labor Rights

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.

Chemical Glove Selection is Critical

How Proper Hand Protection Impacts Workers' Compensation Benefits

Current Landscape of PTSD Claims

As of 2026, the workers' compensation landscape for mental health injuries has transformed dramatically:

Older Drivers: Fatal Crash Risks

Workers age 55 and older who drive as part of their jobs face a troubling reality: they are twice as likely to die in work-related crashes compared to their younger colleagues. This sobering statistic has profound implications for workers' compensation systems nationwide as America's workforce continues to age.

Winter Storm Workers' Compensation Guide

Winter storms pose significant dangers for workers across all industries. As temperatures drop and snow accumulates, the workplace becomes a minefield of potential hazards that can result in serious injuries and costly workers' compensation claims.

Trending: Workplace Psychological Trauma Litigation

Landmark Railroad PTSD Case Signals Broader Shift in Mental Health Coverage

Trial Judge Deference Prevails

How Appellate Courts Respect Workers' Compensation Findings and Why Prior Rulings Don't Always Bar Future Claims

Insurance Snafu Leaves Trucking Company on the Hook

A New Jersey appellate court held that an insurance company failed to terminate coverage properly, and the injured worker was classified as a special employee. 

Fracture of Silicone Breast Implant Held Not to be Compensable

In an unpublished decision, the NJ Appellate Division upheld the dismissal of a workers' compensation claim for the repair of a ruptured breast implant. 

Who Decides if an Employee is a Borrowed-Employee

The adjudication of workers’ compensation claims involves one final arbitrator of fact and law, a compensation judge. In a civil action, a judge decides the applicable law, and the jury decides the factual issues. The NJ Supreme Court recently reiterated the jury’s role in the process when it reviewed a matter determining the status of a borrowed employee.

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 Division of Workers' Compensation to Go Forward With In-Person Hearings

The New Jersey Division of Workers' Compensation [DWC] has announced that it will go forward with in-person hearings effective March seven 2022. 

Another Hurdle to Prove an Occupational Disease Claim

An attempt to restrict the admission of scientific evidence has been proposed on the Federal level. Even though states have maintained their independence for the most part on this issue, the suggested changes signal an emerging national effort to restrict further the admissibility of scientific evidence that may trickle down to the state judicial systems.

UCSF and Johns Hopkins University Launch Digital Trove of Opioid Industry Documents

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Johns Hopkins University today announced the launch of the Opioid Industry Documents Archive, a digital repository of publicly disclosed documents from recent judgments, settlements, and ongoing lawsuits concerning the opioid crisis.

NJ Gov Murphy Announces Legislation to Overhaul New Jersey’s Anti-Workplace Harassment Laws for Public and Private Employers

Division on Civil Rights (DCR) Releases Corresponding Report Following Three Public Hearings Held by DCR and the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NJCASA) in September 2019

Federal opioid limitations: Good intentions, bad outcomes

Today's guest author is Jon Rehm, Esq. of the Nebraska bar.

Senate Republicans and Democrats, including Presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand, have introduced legislation that would limit opioid prescriptions to a set number of days and limit refills. In my view such legislation would negatively impact people who were injured on the job.

I mostly agree with analysis of the legislation that was recently published in Rewire. One size fits all solutions don’t account for the needs of patients with chronic pain. Recently authors of the Centers for Disease Control guidelines for opioid prescriptions have stated that those guidelines have been misused to arbitrarily limit opioid prescriptions for pain management.

As a practical matter, in my experience prescriptions for opioids are already severely limited for injured workers. Statutory limits on opioids are a good excuse for insurers and self-insureds to wash their hands of future medical care obligations under workers compensation.

Opioid prescription limitations have other effects. Pain doctors who don’t prescribe opioids have more time to perform procedures. Procedures are more profitable for doctors and increase cost. Primary care doctors are often reluctant to prescribe opioids which puts more pressure on pain management doctors. 

There are alternatives to opioids for pain management. Stem cell therapy has shown promise in treating pain. But insurers are reluctant to approve those options as that could increase costs for them and leave medical claims under workers’ compensation open.

I believe that opioid prescription monitoring is a better solution to fighting addiction than prescription limits. Those systems can flag potential problem users and get them help. In the case of someone hurt on the job who develops an addiction to pain medication, treatment for that addiction could be covered by workers compensation.

Massachusetts also developed what amounts to a drug court for opioids within their workers’ compensation court. Problem solving courts, like drug courts, are being increasingly used to help those with substance use issues in the criminal justice system. Massachusetts has adopted the idea in an administrative setting. Federal limits on opioid prescriptions would run counter to innovative programs put in place at a state and local level.

Workers compensation laws developed in the early 20th century when workplace safety laws could only be constitutionally enacted through state police powers under the 10th Amendment. Constitutional law evolved changed during the New Deal era which gave Congress broader regulatory powers over workplace safety and the economy in general.

As a result of the broadening of federal regulatory powers, federal laws limiting opioid prescriptions would likely be constitutional even if they interfered with innovative state programs like Massachusetts workers’ compensation opioid court. While the federal government seems to feel compelled to undercut state workers compensation laws to the detriment of workers, the federal government has given up on oversight of state workers compensation laws that could benefit workers.

The United States Department of Labor monitored state workers compensation laws as result of recommendations from the National Commission on State Workers Compensation Laws.The Commission set up 18 standards for state laws. The DOL stopped overseeing state workers compensation laws in 2004.

In 2015 several Senators and Congressional members, including then and current Presidential candidate, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, wrote to the Secretary of Labor about reinstating federal oversight of state workers compensation laws. Reporting by Pro Publica highlighted the shortcomings of state workers’ compensation laws The Department of Labor has made no progress on federal oversight of state workers’ compensation laws since then.

See also:

The Oklahoma Settlement: A Promising Impact on Workers' Compensation

State of NJ Sues a NJ Based Opioid Manufacturer Seeking Reimbursement for Workers' Compensation

Editorial: Why is the Florida Senate helping drug companies in opioid lawsuit?

Expert witness in opioids MDL: Fixing crisis will cost $438 billion

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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  has been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

A Surge in Groundskeeper/Landscaper Cancer Claims Foreseeable

The second jury verdict that occurred in California against Monsanto/Bayer for cancer arising out of exposure to Roundup that contained glyphosate may foreshadow a surge in workers’ compensation cancer claims for groundskeepers and landscapers.

Insufficient Evidence: When "A Lot" is Not Enough

A Judge of Compensation's opinion must be supported by objective medical evidence and not merely based upon an inadmissible net opinion of a medical expert.