Health Advocates Petition 9th Circuit for Asbestos Relief from EPA’s Flawed Final Risk Evaluation for Asbestos

Joined by five public health groups and six leading asbestos scientists, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing asbestos exposure, today asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to review the asbestos risk evaluation issued last month by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

Volunteer's Injury at Community Outreach Event Compensable

The NJ Supreme Court has held that an injury sustained while volunteering at her employer-sponsored event is compensable because the event was not a social or recreational activity. 

Investigative Report Raises Issues

The tension between public pension systems and workers' compensation programs was highlighted in a recent investigative report by the NJ State Comptroller. The report raises additional critical issues common to other state and national collateral social insurance programs challenged by current fiscal limitations.

Navigable Waterway Confers Jurisdiction

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that workers compensation benefits are payable under The Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA) if the worker injured on “navigable water.” There is no need to prove that the waterway “is capable of sustaining ‘commonly used large commercial ships” or if there is evidence of ‘present commercial use.’”

HHS Amends PREP Act Declaration to Increase Workforce Authorized to Administer COVID-19 Vaccines

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today issued the fifth amendment to the Declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) to add additional categories of qualified persons authorized to prescribe, dispense, and administer COVID-19 vaccines authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

CDC issues mandate on wearing of face masks while on conveyances and at transportation hubs

Many of the nation’s employers and employees will be impacted by a recent mask mandate promulgated by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This national Order will establish a uniform science and medical evidence strategy to prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV2 (coronavirus) and the emerging spread of variants of the disease.

Premises Rule Sustained: Shared Parking Lot Injury Held Non-Compensable

Petitioner Diane Lapsley appealed from an order of a judge of compensation concluding that injuries she sustained in a February 3, 2014 accident arose out of and in the course of her employment as a Sparta Township librarian pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Act (the Act), N.J.S.A. 34:15-1 to -146.