Workers' Compensation

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

WVAJ president says personal injury lawyers holding nursing homes accountable

Today's post was shared by Legal Newsline and comes from legalnewsline.com

Heartland of Charleston

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) – Bernie Layne speaks from his experience as a personal injury lawyer and family member when he addresses the importance of representing the elderly and their relatives in nursing home cases.

Layne, the president of the West Virginia Association for Justice and a partner with Mani Ellis & Layne in Charleston, explains that he went to law school after witnessing the vulnerability of the disabled and elderly during his work with the Title 19 Medicaid Waiver Program in southern West Virginia.

He also contends that his area of litigation became important to him after his own grandfather, who was restrained to a bed in a nursing home, choked to death while eating breakfast.

“There are laws to protect those in our nursing homes, but policing them is not something that our government is willing to do or capable of doing,” Layne said.

“If nursing homes are following the law, have adequate staffing and are not putting their profits ahead of residents’ safety, they have no concerns.

“But if they’re not, as civil attorneys, we have the ability to ensure that those nursing homes not following the law will be held accountable for it.”

Not everyone in West Virginia shares Layne’s perspective, especially in the wake of the $91 million verdict in the Heartland of Charleston case. In recent years, the case not only called into question the state’s...

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Redefining the Minimum Wage

Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from www.nytimes.com

Business has been brisk at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, with a record number of passengers spending record amounts of money eating and shopping. But for an estimated 6,500 workers at the airport and its nearby hotels, car rental agencies and parking lots, the activity has not translated into economic security, let alone prosperity. Wages for airport-related jobs average an estimated $11 an hour, ranging from less than $10 an hour for airline contractors, like baggage handlers and cabin cleaners, to about $13 an hour for car-rental employees.

That could soon change. Although the votes are still being tallied, the people of SeaTac, the small city south of Seattle where the airport is, have shown support for a ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage of the airport’s transportation and hospitality workers to $15 an hour, starting Jan. 1.

That would make the minimum wage at Sea-Tac airport considerably higher than Washington State’s minimum of $9.19 an hour. It would be more than the $12.93-an-hour minimum at the San Francisco International Airport, which was enacted in 2000. And it would blow away the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour, in place since 2009, and exceed a proposal in recent legislation, sponsored by Congressional Democrats and supported by President Obama, for a new federal minimum of $10.10 an hour.

All of which makes $15 an hour sound too high. Hardly. Over the last half-century, American workers have achieved productivity gains that...

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Collective Bargaining Law

Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from www.nytimes.com

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments on the constitutionality of a 2011 law that all but eliminated collective bargaining for most public employees.

The law, which prompted large protests and thrust the Republican administration of Gov. Scott Walker into the national spotlight, has divided the state along partisan lines for more than two years. The latest battle has centered largely on a broad legal question: Can state lawmakers so significantly curtail collective bargaining that union membership is made less desirable?

“I don’t believe the two ships pass in the night,” J. B. Van Hollen, the attorney general of Wisconsin, said when asked by a judge about the dueling legal theories. “I believe they collide.”

Mr. Van Hollen argued that group bargaining was not a constitutional guarantee but rather a “benefit” permitted by lawmakers. He added that he believed state officials had a “bigger ship” and would win in the end.

The law, which led to a failed attempt to remove Mr. Walker from office last year, has been challenged by a teachers union in Madison and by a labor group representing employees of the city of Milwaukee. Both plaintiffs contend that the measure violates freedom of association rights and equal protection of the law by subjecting unionized public employees to burdens not faced by their nonunion colleagues.

“If you are an employee and you choose to associate in this activity, you will be...

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Dozens Hurt in Bangladesh Garment Factory Protest

Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from abcnews.go.com

Riot police fired tear gas to battle thousands of stone-throwing garment workers who rampaged through two industrial towns in Bangladesh during a protest over wages Tuesday that closed at least 200 factories and left dozens of people injured, police said.

The protesters built roadblocks with abandoned vehicles and wooden logs in violence that highlighted the poor working conditions in an industry that earns Bangladesh $20 billion in exports yearly but whose workers are the lowest paid in the world.

Thousands of angry workers hurled stones at security forces and attacked factories in the towns of Savar and Ashulia outside the capital, Dhaka, Industrial Police Director Mustafizur Rahman said. At least 200 factories closed in the second day of the protest, and 80 people were injured over two days.

Authorities deployed hundreds of paramilitary border guards to help police fighting the protesters.

"We can't accept the wages that are being offered to us. This is not enough for us," said Kahirul Mamun Mintu, a protest leader at Savar. "Our movement will continue until our demands are met."

A government-appointed panel voted last week to raise the minimum wage for garment workers to 5,300 takas ($66.25) a month — a raise by 77 percent but still the lowest minimum wage in the world. The workers are demanding 8,114 takas ($100) instead.

Factory owners have not endorsed the proposal, arguing the proposed wage for an unskilled newcomer would increase production costs...

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Tuesday, November 12, 2013

How to Help Philippines Typhoon Victims

Today's post was shared by The New York Times and comes from thelede.blogs.nytimes.com

Last Updated, 4:36 p.m. | As the full scale of the devastation wrought across the islands of the Philippines over the weekend by Typhoon Haiyan came into fuller view on Monday, governments around the world have pledged aid to the victims. The Pentagon has dispatched an advance team of 90 marines and sailors, and U.S.A.I.D. has pledged emergency shelter and hygiene materials and 55 tons of food. The American Embassy in Manila has donated $100,000 for water and sanitation assistance.
Below is a list of contact information for some organizations that plan to provide relief to victims of the typhoon, called Yolanda in the Philippines. The New York Times does not certify the charities’ fund allocations or administrative costs. More information about giving, for this and other causes, is available online from the GuideStar database on nonprofit agencies.
Philippine Red Cross
The Philippine Red Cross is accepting donations and coordinating disaster relief on the ground throughout much of the central Philippines. The organization is posting updates on Facebook and Twitter.
World Food Program
The World Food Program, which provides emergency food aid to families and children, is accepting donations online and through PayPal.
Unicef
The Philippine branch of Unicef, the United Nations Children’s Fund, says that children affected by the typhoon need urgent access to drinkable water, medical supplies, food and shelter. It is accepting donations online as part of an emergency...

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FAQ: How The Health Law Impacts Federal Employees’ Health Benefits

Today's post was shared by Kaiser Health News and comes from www.kaiserhealthnews.org

Open enrollment season begins Monday for the approximately eight million federal workers and their dependents who receive health care coverage through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program or FEHB. The 2010 health law calls for some changes in that coverage. Below are some frequently asked questions and answers about how the measure will impact federal workers’ health insurance.
Q: I work at a federal agency and am enrolled in FEHB. Does the Affordable Care Act require me to purchase health insurance on the law’s new online marketplaces, known as exchanges?
A: No, you do not have to buy coverage on the marketplace. You can stay with FEHB. But if you want to shop for a health plan on the exchange, you will not qualify for a subsidy because the federal government pays up to 75 percent of the cost of your FEHB coverage.

Q: I work on Capitol Hill. Do I have to purchase coverage through the exchanges?
A: Yes. A provision of the health law, originally authored by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, requires that, if you are a member of Congress or work on a lawmaker’s personal staff, you must obtain your health coverage through the online insurance marketplace. And, according to a recent ruling from the Office of Personnel Management, or OPM, whether or not you are employed in the D.C. Metro area, you must purchase coverage on the District of Columbia small business exchange.
“Given the location of Congress in the District of Columbia,...

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Monday, November 11, 2013

Worried About Costs And Unaware of Help, Californians Head Into New Era of Health Coverage

Today's post was shared by Kaiser Health News and comes from www.kaiserhealthnews.org

As uninsured Californians head into a new era of health coverage, they're worried about costs and unaware of the help they'll get from the government, a new survey finds.
The survey, by the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that three out of four Californians who earn modest incomes and could buy government-subsidized private coverage believe, wrongly, that they're not eligible for federal assistance or they simply don't know if they qualify.

In addition, many undocumented immigrants, who comprise about a fifth of the state's uninsured population, erroneously believe they will be eligible for coverage. The law specifically bars them from getting coverage from the state's new health insurance exchange, which opens Oct. 1, for coverage beginning Jan.1, 2014.
"This has been, for so long, a political debate," said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access, a Sacramento-based consumer advocacy group. "We're just starting to move it into a practical reality. Now that the benefits are close at hand, there is a concerted effort to educate people about what their benefits are."
California is one of two dozen states preparing to dramatically expand Medicaid, the federal-state insurance program for the poor, yet the survey found only half of newly eligible low-income Californians presume they will qualify. The nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation surveyed some 2,000 uninsured Californians from mid-July until the end of August, a summertime lull before a burst of...

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Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy will hold a hearing on S. 1009

On Wednesday, November 13, the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy will hold a hearing on “S. 1009 – The Chemical Safety Improvement Act.”

The subcommittee has held three hearings in the 113th Congress examining the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) including practical effects of its regulatory implementation.

Next week, members will begin examining efforts to reform the statute with a review of S. 1009, the Chemical Safety Improvement Act, bipartisan legislation authored by Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) and the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).

As part of the ongoing effort to improve chemical safety regulation, the subcommittee will take a thoughtful look at the proposed Senate bill and how it addresses reform of the program.

The Majority Memorandum and witness list is available here. Witness testimony will also be posted at the same link when available.

Exhausted Workers Recall Minimal Efforts to Enforce a Minimum Wage Law

Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from www.nytimes.com

Two weeks ago, Pin Zhu Zheng, who says she worked 69 hours a week behind a steam table at a Chinatown restaurant on Centre Street, presented herself at a New York State office to report what seemed to be flagrant lawbreaking by her former bosses.

“The first day of the month, they pay $1,500 cash,” Ms. Zheng, 55, said in an interview on Thursday.

“Everyone got the same.”

That works out to about $5 an hour for a six-day workweek that ran from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; the law requires a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour for the first 40 hours a week. After that, workers must be paid time and a half, or a minimum of $10.88 an hour.

“The Labor Department person told me that I had to wait a year for the follow-up,” Ms. Zheng said through a translator.

But what good is a minimum wage law if it takes forever to enforce it? Complaints with the State Labor Department about wage and hour violations were stacked 14,000 high at the end of July, according to documents obtained by the Urban Justice Center through a freedom of information request.

In May 2012, the records showed, 44 percent of the cases had been open for more than a year, said David Colodny, a lawyer with the center.

Carlos Rodriguez, 28, said he made $4.40 an hour in a pizza franchise on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, cutting vegetables, cleaning, unloading trucks by day and making deliveries at night. “We paid for the uniform, the hat, the T-shirt, the pants, the shoes,” Mr....

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Workers' compensation claims drop in Louisiana

Today's post is shared from thetowntalk.com

A national group is recommending that Louisiana reduce workers' compensation rates by 5 percent because of fewer workplace claims among other factors.

The Times-Picayune of New Orleans reports that the National Council on Compensation Insurance has filed documents with the Louisiana Department of Insurance saying businesses in the state should pay lower rates because workers' compensation claims declined in 2011.
According to the Louisiana Workforce Commission, employers across the state saw lighter losses in 2010 and 2011.

The NCCI says those improvements can be attributed to a decrease in the number of workplace injuries and a reduction in the average cost per claim.

The NCCI recommends additional cuts in manufacturing by 7 percent, contracting by 5 percent, office and clerical by 6 percent, goods and services by 6 percent and miscellaneous industry groups by about 3 percent.

If the insurance department adopts the lower rates, they would take effect May 14.

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California Tossed Out NFL Players Brain Injury Claim: Time To Change The System?

While professional teams in California have sheltered themselves from workers' compensation claims, the injuries have not gone away. Workers' compensation has long been a vehicle to insulate employers and their insurance carriers from the payment of benefits. With the erosion of workers' compensation as a functional benefit program, many experts are now calling for its elimination altogether and merely allow the claims to proceed in the civil justice system. Today's post is shared from sportsworldnews.com .

A California workers panel threw out former Dallas Cowboy Tony Dorsett's brain-injury claim just months before he was diagnosed with initial signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

The diagnosis of Dorsett, the 59-year-old Hall of Fame running back, was made public Wednesday when two UCLA researchers found that Dorsett, Hall of Fame offensive lineman Joe DeLamielleure and former All-Pro defensive lineman Leonard Marshall showed signs of CTE, a degenerative disease that has been linked to head trauma.
The condition has led to depression, dementia and suicide in former NFL players.
Dorsett's claim was denied in May when a workers compensation judge ruled that Dorsett agreed to an $85,000 settlement for injuries to "multiple orthopaedic body parts" in 1991, the Times reported. Therefore, the player was not allowed to file any more claims for subsequent injury, according to state records.
Dorsett appealed that workers'...

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Saturday, November 9, 2013

Tort reform bills placed on U.S. House schedule; could be considered next week

Today's post was shared by Legal Newsline and comes from legalnewsline.com

The U.S. House of Representatives could consider two tort reform bills next week.
Both the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act and the Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act have been placed on the House’s schedule, according to GovTrack.us.
The Hill reported Tuesday that House Republicans will “call up” the bills next week.
LARA, or House Resolution 2655, imposes mandatory sanctions on lawyers who file meritless suits in federal court.
Specifically, the bill:
- Reinstates sanctions for the violation of Rule 11. Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure was originally intended to deter frivolous lawsuits by sanctioning the offending party;
- Ensures that judges impose monetary sanctions against lawyers who file frivolous lawsuits, including the attorney’s fees and costs incurred by the victim of the frivolous lawsuit; and
- Reverses the 1993 amendments to Rule 11 that allow parties and their attorneys to avoid sanctions for making frivolous claims by withdrawing them within 21 days after a motion for sanctions has been served.
Smith
The House Judiciary Committee passed the bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, in September.
“LARA encourages attorneys to think twice before filing frivolous lawsuits,” Smith said at the time.
The FACT Act, or House Resolution 982, requires more transparency from asbestos trusts. The House Judiciary Committee passed the bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold,...

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Largest Civil Disobedience In Walmart History Leads To More Than 50 Arrests

Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from www.huffingtonpost.com

Surrounded by about 100 police officers in riot gear and a helicopter circling above, more than 50 Walmart workers and supporters were arrested in downtown Los Angeles Thursday night as they sat in the street protesting what they called the retailer's "poverty wages."
Organizers said it was the largest single act of civil disobedience in Walmart's 50-year history. The 54 arrestees, with about 500 protesting Walmart workers, clergy and supporters, demonstrated outside LA's Chinatown Walmart. Those who refused police orders to clear the street after their permit expired were arrested without incident. Those who fail to post $5,000 bail would be jailed overnight, Detective Gus Villanueva, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman, told The Huffington Post.
Their primary demand to Walmart: pay every full-time worker at least $25,000 a year.
One of the protesting Walmart workers, Anthony Goytia, a 31-year-old father of two, said he believes he will make about $12,000 this year. It's a daily struggle, he said, "to make sure my family doesn't go hungry."
"The power went out at my house yesterday because I couldn't afford the bill," Goytia told HuffPost. "I had to run around and get two payday loans to pay for my rent from the first" of the month. "Yesterday we went to a food bank."
To make ends meet, Goytia said he sometimes participates in clinical trials and sells his blood plasma. He has been asking his managers for full-time employment for a year and a half. Instead, he said,...

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ABA: Too few judges, lack of funding hurting federal courts

Today's post was shared by Legal Newsline and comes from legalnewsline.com

Goodlatte

The American Bar Association, in a letter last week, says the combination of too few judges and insufficient funding is diminishing the ability of the federal courts to “serve the people and deliver timely justice.”
Thomas Susman, director of the ABA’s Governmental Affairs Office, sent a letter to U.S. Rep. Robert Goodlatte to be made part of the record in a hearing on the need for federal judgeships.
Goodlatte
Last week, Goodlatte, R-Va. and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, held a hearing titled, “Are More Judges Always the Answer?”
Goodlatte contends President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats see the courts as an avenue to advance their agendas.
“When the Senate Majority Leader said, ‘We’re focusing very intently on the D.C. Circuit’ and ‘We need at least one more. There’s three vacancies. And that will switch the majority,’ he clearly wasn’t referring to the court’s needs,” he said during the Oct. 29 hearing.
But the ABA argues that when federal courts do not have sufficient judges to keep up with the workload, civil trial dockets end up taking a back seat to criminal dockets.
“As a result, persistent judge shortages increase the length of time that civil litigants and businesses wait for their day in court, create pressures that ‘robotize’ justice, and increase case backlogs that will perpetuate delays for years to...

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Parker Pathways Show to be Dedicated to Marvin Shapiro

This Sunday, November 10, 2013, Dr. Winn Parker will dedicate his program Parker's Pathway Program to the late Marvin Shapiro, a past President of the California Applicants Attorneys Association (CAAA). Marvin, who was a California Workers' Compensation attorney past away last week.

Dr. Parker said, "I am going to do a dedication to Marvin Shapiro (1936-2013) on my Internet-Radio Program Parker Pathways on RBN Sunday's 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. CST. For some time I have presented Workman's Compensation issues of importance to my Global audience. I will continue to do so. Inspiration for me came upon me from Marvin from a long time ago."

Parker’s Pathways Program presentations cover as many as five separate disciplines that vary from each program tied together in knowledge and information that can be translated into survival knowledge and for making decisions for clinical laboratory medicine to following trends that have been invested by markets. Futurist implications are given from peer-reviewed science, medicine and law inclusive of water law, health law, genetic engineering and research, testing and development and evaluations (RDT and E) made for projects that are changing our lives and environments. Advanced work is discussed concerning the Brain Project and the future world war for water. Decisions from Government Agencies are given which can have revelations that are of great value for building new working knowledge for future jobs in the new world that include United Nations sustainability paradigms.

Here is the website http://republicbroadcasting.org/parkers-pathways-with-dr-winn-parker/

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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

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