In the three years since Governor Murphy signed a law expanding NJDOL’s powers to stop work on a job site when there is strong evidence workers are being exploited, the department has issued 71 stop-work orders, through which agents found nearly $1 million in back wages owed to 235 workers.
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Friday, August 19, 2022
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Burn Pit Legislation Signed into Law
President Biden signed legislation that will provide medical benefits from the Veterans Administration to service members exposed to toxic burn pits while deployed overseas in recent conflicts. The President signed the Sargent First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act. It embodies some of the goals we strived to achieve in the decades-long burn pit litigation project.
Monday, August 8, 2022
EPA Launches Community Engagement Efforts on New Ethylene Oxide Risk Information
Friday, July 29, 2022
Republican Senators Block Final Passage of The Bipartisan Toxic Exposure Bill That Would Assist Veterans
In a stunning reversal the much-anticipated legislation that would aid veterans exposed to toxic burn pits, and water contamination at Camp Lejune and other war sites was blocked by a unified group of 25 Republican Senators. The widely bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022 previously passed the senate 84-14.
Thursday, July 14, 2022
The EEOC Restricts COVID Testing by Employers
Testing is one of the most important layers of protection that employers and employees have against COVID-19. The US Equal Opportunity Commission [EEOC] has now placed a restriction on COVID testing for employers limiting to only where there is defined “business necessity.”
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Possible Blood Bio-Marker Identified for Long COVID
Establishing a causal relationship in Long COVID may be established by a potential blood bio-marker according to a recently published study.
Sunday, July 3, 2022
NJ Supreme Court Enhances Workplace Safety and Adopts an Updated Standard for Medical Causation
A divided NJ Supreme Court upheld a verdict for an employee who suffered mesothelioma, a fatal cancer, as a result of a product manufacturer’s failure to warn of the lethal nature of the product in the workplace. The Court acknowledged that even minor exposure to asbestos could cause disease.
Saturday, July 2, 2022
OSHA reminds fireworks/pyrotechnics industry to put worker safety first in advance of July 4 celebration
Thursday, June 30, 2022
Burn Pit Claims: US Supreme Court Allows Veteran to Sue a State Agency for Employment Discrimination
In a 5-4 decision authored by Justice Breyer, the US Supreme Court reversed a lower court and remanded the case allowing a veteran to sue the state of Texas. It held under the US Constitution that the States agreed it would yield their sovereignty to the Federal Government to raise and support the Armed Forces.
Thursday, June 23, 2022
"Unmasking COVID" in 2022, Where Are We Now?
Jury awards $650K in damages for Massachusetts contractor’s unlawful retaliation against injured immigrant worker
A federal jury in the District of Massachusetts has found that a Massachusetts employer and his company retaliated against an employee who reported an on-the-job injury. The jury awarded $650,000 in damages – $600,000 in punitive damages and $50,000 in compensatory damages – as a result.
California Supreme Court Agrees to Review COVID Take Home Liability Case
The California Supreme Court has accepted for review the question of whether the workers’ compensation act bars a claim against an employer by a household contact of an employee who contacted COVID at work. The court granted the request, made under California Rules of Court, rule 8.548, that the court will decide questions of California law presented in a matter pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
US Supreme Declines to Review Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Issue
The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) declined to review the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision prohibiting reimbursement of medical marijuana costs in a workers’ compensation claim. The Petitioner for a Writ of Certiorari conference was denied today. Musta v. Mendota Heights Dental Center, et al., No. 21-998. Therefore, the individual States will remain the authority on whether reimbursement for medical marijuana will be permitted in a workers' compensation claim.
Monday, June 20, 2022
The Toxic Legacy of Ford Motor Company
The State of New Jersey is suing Ford Motor Company [FMC] for environmental pollution due to dumping its toxic waste in Ringwood, New Jersey. FMC operated a huge assembly plant in Mahwah, New Jersey, from 1955 through June 1980.
Sunday, June 19, 2022
Is Medicare-For-All a Prescription for Infectious Diseases in the Workplace?
The workers’ compensation system nationally has been challenged over the last two plus years of the COVID Pandemic. The multi-state administered workers’ compensation program is based on a litigious patchwork of state programs with varying degrees of eligibility, procedures, and benefits.
Thursday, June 16, 2022
COVID-19 on the Brain: Neurological Symptoms Persist in Majority of Long-Haulers
A new study offers scientific evidence supporting permanent neurological disability flowing from an occupational COVID-19 condition. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine are conducting a longitudinal study to track neurological symptoms in COVID-19 “long-haulers.”
Sunday, June 12, 2022
Central New Jersey facility to pay $273K, take corrective actions to resolve COVID-related respirator violations
OSHA finds employers failed to ensure safe respirator use while testing hundreds daily.
Friday, June 10, 2022
Senator Merkley Chairs Hearing on Asbestos Ban Legislation
Sunday, June 5, 2022
The Honorable Maria Del Valle-Koch Appointed the New Chief Judge and Director
The Honorable Maria Del Valle-Koch will be the New Chief Judge and Director effective Monday, June 6, 2022. Outgoing Chief Judge and Director Russell Wojenko, Jr. announced Friday that Robert Asaro-Angelo, Commissioner of NJ Labor and Workforce Development, had made the appointment.
Saturday, June 4, 2022
Penalties for Delay in Payment Excessive
Waiting for timely payment of a workers’ compensation award can sometimes be a frustrating experience for an injured worker. The penalties assessed for the delay in paying a workers’ compensation award were an issue of first impression reviewed by the NJ Appellate Division.