Single Payer’s Workers’ Compensation Gamble

For more than a decade, this blog has tracked what I have called “The Path to Federalization,” the steady, incremental expansion of federal authority over what was once an exclusively state-run workers’ compensation system. From the World Trade Center Health Program in 2010 to the Affordable Care Act’s Libby Care pilot, from Supreme Court validation of the individual mandate in 2012 to the Medicare Secondary Payer offset debate, each chapter has added a new stone to that path. California’s 2026 gubernatorial race is laying the boldest stone yet.

Virus on Board: Are We Ready?

Hantavirus, the Andes Strain, and the Workers' Compensation System's Preparedness for Person-to-Person Infectious Disease Outbreaks

SSDI in Freefall

The Social Security Administration's (SSA) Disability Insurance (SSDI) program has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past decade. New data from SSA's Office of the Chief Actuary reveal a steep and sustained decline in disabled-worker beneficiary rolls, a trend with profound consequences not only for disabled workers but also for the workers' compensation system that frequently intersects with SSDI benefits.

Arbitration Enforced Despite Language Barrier

A federal court in New Jersey has compelled arbitration in a case involving a Spanish-speaking employee who alleged disability discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, and workers' compensation retaliation. despite the fact that she could not read or understand the English-language arbitration agreement she signed.

New Jersey's ABC Test Gets Official Rules

New Jersey's Department of Labor and Workforce Development has adopted N.J.A.C. 12:11, a sweeping new set of rules that codify how the state's nearly 90-year-old ABC test is applied to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. This is a landmark development for workers' compensation practitioners, employers, and every worker performing services in the Garden State.

CMS Tightens WCMSA Compliance Rules

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released Version 4.5 of the Workers' Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Arrangement (WCMSA) Reference Guide, dated April 13, 2026 (COBR-Q2-2026-v4.5). While the technical updates in this version are modest, they come amid sweeping enforcement changes that every workers' compensation practitioner must understand.

OSHA Violations: Workers’ Compensation Impact

A willful OSHA violation is serious, but in New Jersey, it is not a magic key that unlocks the door to civil litigation against an employer. Over a decade after the New Jersey Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Van Dunk v. Reckson Associates Realty Corp., 210 N.J. 449 (2012), that foundational principle remains firmly in place and continues to shape how injured workers, employers, and practitioners navigate the intersection of OSHA enforcement and the workers’ compensation system.