The COVID-19 Advisory Board and the Future of Workers’ Compensation

Today, the Biden-Harris Transition announced the formation of the Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board, a team of leading public health experts who will advise President-elect Biden, Vice President-elect Harris, and the Transition’s COVID-19 staff. The Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board will be led by co-chairs Dr. David Kessler, Dr. Vivek Murthy, and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith. Dr. Beth Cameron and Dr. Rebecca Katz are serving as advisors to the Transition on COVID-19 and will work closely with the Advisory Board.

Lessons from Asbestos Litigation Apply to COVID Claims

The rapid emergence of COVID-19 creates new challenges for the nation’s patchwork of state run workplace benefit delivery systems. This paper draws a comparison between COVID claims and asbestos claims, the “Largest and Longest” wave of occupational disease claims in the United States. The comparison offers insight into avoiding past economic, administrative and benefit delivery pitfalls. The lessons from asbestos claims provide an insight into maintaining a sustainable workers’ compensation system to meet the surge of COVID claims.

A Federal Heroes Compensation Fund

The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential of generating an enormous number of occupational illness claims from health care workers [HCW] and first responders [FR]. Several governmental leaders have called for a nationalized workers’ compensation benefit program to handle the surge of claims. 

OSHA Steps Backwards on COVID-19 Occupational Exposures

On Friday, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration [OSHA] announced a policy minimizing occupational exposure to COVID-19 exposures and disease in the workplace. The policy contradicts the nationals patchwork of state Workers’ Compensation Acts that have statutorily included occupational exposure to infectious disease as a work-related and compensable illness.

Law Enacted to Phase-Out Use of Military Burn Pits

Recent legislation passed Congress and signed by the President last week mandates the  phase-out burn pits used by the United States military. The law provides for medical monitoring and health assessments of military members who have been exposed to toxic chemicals or airborne contaminants from burn pits. This legislation follows the dismissal, almost a year ago, of litigation against third-party contractors by service members, and their dependents, who became ill after alleged exposure to  the toxic fumes where burn pits were utilized in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Governor Murphy Signs Legislation to Dramatically Reform New Jersey's Medical Marijuana Program, Expand Patient Access

Governor Phil Murphy on July 2, 2019 signed the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act to dramatically reform New Jersey’s Medicinal Marijuana Program (MMP) and expand patient access to medical marijuana.

Surveillance drones: Coming soon to Nebraska workers’ compensation?

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

Last summer Brody posted about the possibility of drone surveillance in workers’ compensation cases in Nebraska. Some new developments lead me to believe that drone surveillance of injured workers in Nebraska may be coming soon.

NJ Governor’s Report on Misclassification

Governor Phil Murphy today released a comprehensive report from the Task Force on Employee Misclassification, vowing to intensify efforts to curtail the widespread and illegal practice of misclassifying workers as independent contractors instead of employees, which cheats some workers out of benefits and wages, hurts law-abiding business owners, and costs the state tens of millions of dollars a year in lost employment-related tax revenue.

New Opioid Prescription Regulations

Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, together with the New Jersey Coordinator for Addiction Responses and Enforcement Strategies ("NJ CARES"), today announced a series of regulatory actions that will advance the State’s battle to end the opioid epidemic, including proposed rules that will expand access to the prevention and treatment of opioid use disorder through telemedicine.

Six-Year Statute of Limitations Governs Medical Claims

In a landmark decision the NJ Court of Appeals held that medical provider claims for expenses in workers’ compensation claims are subject to a contractual six-year statute of limitations. The ruling will have a major impact upon the overburdened state’s Division of Workers’ Compensation (NJDWC) system.

The NJDWC is already recognizing a soaring number of medical expense disputes and it lacks a standardized adjudication process. The Legislature should establish a medical fee schedule and create a separate alternate dispute resolution (ADR) system to adjudicate the medical provider claims.

Rand Study Urges National Workers’ Compensation Reforms

A national study by the Rand Corporation is urging changes to the workers’ compensation system. The study was commissioned by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and approaches necessary improvements inorder to make the nation’s workplaces safer.

NJ Expands Access to Medical Marijuana to Include Common Work-Related Conditions

Governor Phil Murphy announced major reforms to New Jersey’s Medicinal Marijuana Program. The permitted medical conditions now include many common work-related medical conditions. 

NASI Study: Employers & Employees Lose With Workers' Compensation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Workers’ compensation employer costs as a share of payroll declined in 2015, reversing a four-year trend, and benefits as a share of payroll fell for the fourth straight year, according to a new report from the National Academy of Social Insurance (the Academy).

Technology - Efficiency - Uniform Procedure

For decades the NJ Workers' Compensation administrative law system has had to adapt to meet the social, political, economic and technological changes of a changing world. The well thought-out proposals by the NJ State Bar Association (NJSBA) are a starting point to the beginning of a new wave of discussion and change.

The Rise and Fall of Workers' Compensation - The Path to Federalization

Every year The Board of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplemental Medical Supplemental Medical Insurance Trust Funds makes an actuarial guess as to the future financial solvency of Medicare. The report creates an annual news frenzy in the workers’ compensation community since Medicare is both the safety net for injured workers and playground for employers and their insurance companies to use in cost shifting,

Governor of Nevada Vetoes Single-Payer Legislation

Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval has vetoed legislation that would have established a single-payer Assembly Bill 374 would have expanded a Medicare-type health care insurance plan. coverage to provide health care coverage to all Nevada residents.

Chaos for Workers' Compensation Programs--The Elimination of Social Security Numbers?

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is readying a fraud prevention initiative that removes Social Security Numbers (SSN) from Medicare cards to help combat identity theft and safeguard taxpayer dollars. The question remains whether the elimination will cause chaos in state workers' compensation programs since the SSNs have historically been utilized as personal identifiers.

Weighing Genetic Factors in Cardiovascular Cases

Cardiovascular cases involving occupational risks are complicated causation proof issues in workers' compensation cases. The association of the work exposure and/or effort is usually a challenging proof battle where literature and medical experts are caught in a contentious duel.

The Difficult Task of the Florida Supreme Court

The Florida Supreme has before it a constitutional challenge once again concerning workers’ compensation. The scope of the controversy remains undefined and the ultimate impact equally uncertain. I have found over the years that one cannot predict the outcome of a case by merely watching an oral argument.

Expectations Must Adapt to Change

In the "old days" the US workers' compensation system,  meet or "exceeded exceptions." Looking backward we recognize an aggressive and dedicated work ethic, that the government, private industry and labor," managed to embrace into a "Grand Bargain" called Workers' Compensation. 

Times have changed. In the past the corporate and executive workplace was a formal "tie and jacket" environment. Seasoned member always gripe how things have changed for the worse and long for a return to the comforting and familiar "good old times."