Showing posts sorted by date for query obesity. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query obesity. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Friday, June 10, 2022
Senator Merkley Chairs Hearing on Asbestos Ban Legislation
Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight, called and chaired a hearing on the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2022.
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
Common Law Discrimination Complaint Fatally Flawed
One of the remedies available to injured workers who have been discharged in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim is a common law action. The failure to adequately plead a retaliation action in the complaint will result in the dismissal of the action.
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.
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
US Supreme Court to Conference Medical Marijuana Preemption Case
The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is scheduled to conference 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 is listed for Thursday, June 16, 2022. Musta v. Mendota Heights Dental Center, et al., No. 21-998.
Monday, May 30, 2022
Dual Employment Status Bars Double Recovery
An employee may have dual employers but ultimately can only receive a single recovery from only one employer for work-related injuries. The “exclusivity doctrine,” permitting a complete recovery of damages against an employer, limits an injured worker’s benefit recovery to the compensation system, barring an intentional tort.
Saturday, May 28, 2022
NJ Senate Confirms Judicial Nominations
On May 26, 2022, the NJ Senate has confirmed NJ DWC Chief Judge and Director Russell Wojtenko Jr. of West Windsor to be a Judge of the Superior Court for the term prescribed by law, ending seven years from the date of appointment.
Monday, May 16, 2022
US Requests SCOTUS Not Review Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Issue
The US Government filed an amicus curiae brief requesting that the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) not review the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision prohibiting reimbursement of medical marijuana costs in a workers’ compensation claim. The US Government was invited to submit a brief by SCOTUS. Musta v. Mendota Heights Dental Center, et al., No. 21-998.
Thursday, March 31, 2022
The Effects of Obesity on an Injury
The impact of morbid obesity on the residuals of an injury that occurred at work is to be considered when evaluating an individual’s eligibility for Social Security disability.
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Noise Induced Health Threats
Excessive noise that has dominated the workplace throughout time is now associated as causing a plethora of serious health conditions. A recent article in the New York Magazine by David Owen focusses on occupational induced noise pollution and the ailments it affects.
Monday, April 8, 2019
Shift Work Reportedly Causally Related to Increase Risk of Diabetes and Heart Disease
Shift work has been shown to be associated with heart and metabolic disorders. A recently published study reports exactly how shift work is causally related in the long-term to both diabetes and heart disease. Workers’ Compensation claims may increase for such diseases going forward for injured workers seeking benefits for such medical conditions.
Sunday, November 13, 2016
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.
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Should Workers' Compensation Be In The Wellness Business?
A recent study indicate that wellness programs are exceptionally important. Employers and workers' compensation insurance companies would be wise to follow this initiative.
One out of every four dollars employers pay for health care is tied to unhealthy lifestyle choices or conditions like smoking, stress and obesity, despite the fact that most large employers have workplace wellness programs.
One out of every four dollars employers pay for health care is tied to unhealthy lifestyle choices or conditions like smoking, stress and obesity, despite the fact that most large employers have workplace wellness programs.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
The Extra Cost Of Extra Weight For Older Adults
Bayou La Batre calls itself the seafood capital of Alabama. Residents here depend on fishing and shrimping for their livelihood, and when they sit down to eat, they like most things fried.
It’s here that former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin has been trying to reverse the nation’s obesity epidemic one patient at a time. Benjamin grew up near Bayou La Batre and has run a health clinic in this town of seafood workers and ship builders since 1990. As obesity became commonplace around the U.S., health care providers like Benjamin began seeing the impacts of obesity all around them.
“We saw our patient population get heavier,” Benjamin said. “We saw chronic diseases start to rise, and if we continued, our entire community would totally be crippled, basically, based on chronic diseases.”
Two major trends are on a collision course here, as in the rest of the United States: a decades-long surge in obesity and the aging of the U.S. population. Today, one out of every three adults in the U.S. are clinically obese, and many who have lived for decades with excess weight, diabetes and heart disease are now heading into their senior years. Obese people are far more likely to become sick or disabled as they age, and researchers say this burgeoning demographic will strain hospitals and nursing homes.
“We’re potentially going to have a larger, older population that’s more likely to be obese,...
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Thursday, December 18, 2014
Obesity is a disability. Employers should start treating it that way.
Today's post is shared from washingtonpost.com/ Helen Leahey is a Welsh journalist and documentary filmmaker who works in education management.
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 Job interviews are an uncomfortable experience for most people. But for people like me who suffer from morbid obesity, they are especially grueling. It’s hard to impress someone when you’re the fat applicant. There’s the added challenge of sustaining an engaging conversation as a potential future employer walks you around the premises, a hike that leaves you winded. After that, you have to squeeze into a tiny chair and present your credentials, maintaining a charming demeanor as the blood circulation to the lower half of your body is cut off. I went through this process over and over again while I was searching for a job. I did land one eventually, as a manager in one of the world’s leading business schools. But my problems didn’t end there. Because of my handicap, co-workers had to take over tasks that I couldn’t manage – mainly those that involved climbing any number of stairs or walking more than 20 feet. It is clear to me that morbid obesity — defined as having a body mass index above 40 — is often a disability, irrelevant of the cause. But in many legal systems, that’s still an unanswered question. Even as obesity rates have soared, U.S. and European courts have grappled with whether to classify it as a disability, which would obligate employers to provide necessary accommodations so obese employees can... |
Workers Fired for Being Obese May Sue Bosses, Court Says
Today's post is shared from businessweek.com/
Obese workers may claim discrimination in the workplace, the European Union’s highest court said in a case that will pave the way for severely fat people to be protected as disabled.
“That condition falls within the concept of disability where, under particular conditions, it hinders the full and effective participation of the person concerned in professional life on an equal basis with other workers,” the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled today.
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, according to the World Health Organization, which says at least 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. People with a BMI of more than 25 are classified as overweight and a BMI of more than 30 is obese. As many as 30 percent of adults in Europe are obese, the WHO says.
Today’s case was triggered by Karsten Kaltoft, who sued the town of Billund, Denmark, after he was dismissed from his post in 2010. Kaltoft, whose weight was never less than 160 kilograms (353 pounds) at the time, had a high body mass index of 54, which classified him as obese. His public-sector employer denies that this was why he lost his job.
Kaltoft first took his case to a Danish court, which asked the EU tribunal to rule on whether obesity could be included as a reason for unlawful discrimination by employers. The Danish court will have decide on his firing in line with today’s ruling.
The case is: C-354/13, FOA, acting on behalf...
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Read more about obesity and workers' compensation
Obese workers may claim discrimination in the workplace, the European Union’s highest court said in a case that will pave the way for severely fat people to be protected as disabled.
“That condition falls within the concept of disability where, under particular conditions, it hinders the full and effective participation of the person concerned in professional life on an equal basis with other workers,” the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled today.
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, according to the World Health Organization, which says at least 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. People with a BMI of more than 25 are classified as overweight and a BMI of more than 30 is obese. As many as 30 percent of adults in Europe are obese, the WHO says.
Today’s case was triggered by Karsten Kaltoft, who sued the town of Billund, Denmark, after he was dismissed from his post in 2010. Kaltoft, whose weight was never less than 160 kilograms (353 pounds) at the time, had a high body mass index of 54, which classified him as obese. His public-sector employer denies that this was why he lost his job.
Kaltoft first took his case to a Danish court, which asked the EU tribunal to rule on whether obesity could be included as a reason for unlawful discrimination by employers. The Danish court will have decide on his firing in line with today’s ruling.
The case is: C-354/13, FOA, acting on behalf...
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Read more about obesity and workers' compensation
Nov 21, 2014
Officials estimated that about 30 percent of seniors are obese and therefore eligible for counseling services, which studies have shown improve the odds of significant weight loss. But less than 1 percent of Medicare's 50 ...
Jun 30, 2014
Those are the results of a first-of-its-type study the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries sponsored connecting what you do for work with obesity. The study also examined the percentage of workers in specific ...
Nov 20, 2013
Obesity is now been classified as disease. With such a designation of Worker's Compensation systems will be impacted by request for benefits in order to diminish obesity is a pre-existing and coexisting diagnosis. Treatment ...
Dec 04, 2012
With over two-thirds of the nations' workforce overweight, the US workers' compensation system appears to weighed down with issue of obesity and its complications and costs. The delivery of medical treatment, and resulting ...
Obesity 'could be a disability' - EU courts rule
 Obesity can constitute a disability in certain circumstances, the EU's highest court has ruled. The European Court of Justice was asked to consider the case of a male childminder in Denmark who says he was sacked for being too fat. The court said that if obesity could hinder "full and effective participation" at work then it could count as a disability. The ruling is binding across the EU. “If employers suddenly have to start ensuring that they've got wider seats, larger tables, more parking spaces for people who are obese, I think then we're just making the situation worse.”Jane Deville Almond British Obesity Society Judges said that obesity in itself was not a disability - but if a person had a long term impairment because of their obesity, then they would be protected by disability legislation. The case centres around childminder Karsten Kaltoft who weighs about 160kg (25 stone). He brought a discrimination case against his employers of 15 years, Billund local authority, after he was sacked four years ago. The authority said a fall in the number of children meant Mr Kaltoft was no longer required. But Mr Kaltoft said he was dismissed because he was overweight. 'No problems' Earlier this year he told the BBC that reports he was so fat he was unable to bend down to tie children's shoelaces were untrue. Describing his work with... |
Read more about obesity and workers' compensation
Jun 21, 2012
In a report issued by NCCI Holdings Inc., a company that generates workers' compensation insurance rates in many jurisdictions, the increased cost factors for obesity were reported. "The statistical analysis shows that ...
Mar 20, 2010
Now a Court has ordered that an insurance company must treat a persons obesity as an extension of its medical benefits so that weight reduction can occur and the underlying work related condition can be addressed.
Sep 23, 2011
We thought it was a fitting topic for our workers' law blog because NFL linemen must embrace this condition in order to stay in peak performance. It's called chronic obesity. These days, to be an NFL lineman, you not only have ...
Mar 15, 2014
Workers' compensation is affected by obesity as well. A work injury or disease, coupled with chronic obesity, frequently becomes much more difficult to deal with. The usual methods of treatment may not be possible for an ...
Friday, November 21, 2014
Seniors’ Obesity-Counseling Benefit Goes Largely Unused
| Three years ago, the Obama administration offered hope to millions of overweight seniors when it announced Medicare would offer free weight-loss counseling. Officials estimated that about 30 percent of seniors are obese and therefore eligible for counseling services, which studies have shown improve the odds of significant weight loss. But less than 1 percent of Medicare’s 50 million beneficiaries have used the benefit so far. Experts blame the government’s failure to promote the program, rules that limit where and when patients can go for counseling as well as the low fees for providers. Since November 2011, about 120,000 seniors have participated, including about 50,000 last year, according to federal data. “It’s very disappointing,” said Dr. Scott Kahan, an obesity medicine specialist at George Washington University.  “It’s a huge lost opportunity,” said Bonnie Modugno, a registered dietician in Santa Monica, Calif., who advises doctors how to provide weight loss counseling. By comparison, about 250,000 seniors last year used Medicare’s tobacco cessation counseling benefit, which started in 2005 and offers greater flexibility about how providers can offer it. Nationally, 9 percent of seniors smoke, while 30 percent are obese. Obesity and smoking are the two leading causes of preventable death in the United States. Obesity, which is defined as being 35 pounds or more overweight or having a... |
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Working Long Hours Tied to Diabetes Risk
Today's post is shared from nytimes.com/
Working long hours may increase the risk for Type 2 diabetes, a new review has found, but the risk is apparent only in workers of lower socioeconomic status.
Long working hours are associated with diabetes risk factors — work stress, sleep disturbances, depression and unhealthy lifestyle, and some studies have found long hours associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
Researchers combined data from 19 published and unpublished studies on more than 222,000 men and women in several countries.
The analysis, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, found no effect of working hours in higher socioeconomic groups. But in workers of lower socioeconomic status, working more than 55 hours a week increased the risk for Type 2 diabetes by almost 30 percent. The association persisted after excluding shift workers and adjusting for age, sex, obesity and physical activity.
The study is observational, and the lead author, Mika Kivimäki, a professor of epidemiology at University College London, said there were no intervention studies that could establish cause and effect.
“My recommendation for people who wish to decrease the risk of Type 2 diabetes,” he said, “applies both to individuals who work long hours and those who work standard hours: Eat and drink healthfully, exercise, avoid overweight, keep blood glucose and lipid levels within the normal range, and do not smoke.”
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Working long hours may increase the risk for Type 2 diabetes, a new review has found, but the risk is apparent only in workers of lower socioeconomic status.
Long working hours are associated with diabetes risk factors — work stress, sleep disturbances, depression and unhealthy lifestyle, and some studies have found long hours associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
Researchers combined data from 19 published and unpublished studies on more than 222,000 men and women in several countries.
The analysis, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, found no effect of working hours in higher socioeconomic groups. But in workers of lower socioeconomic status, working more than 55 hours a week increased the risk for Type 2 diabetes by almost 30 percent. The association persisted after excluding shift workers and adjusting for age, sex, obesity and physical activity.
The study is observational, and the lead author, Mika Kivimäki, a professor of epidemiology at University College London, said there were no intervention studies that could establish cause and effect.
“My recommendation for people who wish to decrease the risk of Type 2 diabetes,” he said, “applies both to individuals who work long hours and those who work standard hours: Eat and drink healthfully, exercise, avoid overweight, keep blood glucose and lipid levels within the normal range, and do not smoke.”
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Saturday, September 27, 2014
Study: People who work long hours in low-wage jobs experience higher risk of diabetes
A recent study has uncovered another possible risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes: working long hours in low-paying jobs. In a study published this week in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, researchers found that people who work more than 55 hours per week performing manual work or other low socioeconomic status jobs face a 30 percent greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes when compared to those working between 35 and 40 hours per week. The association remained even after researchers accounted for risk factors such as smoking, physical activity levels, age, sex and obesity as well as after they excluded shift work, which has already been shown to increase type 2 diabetes risk. The study is the largest so far to examine the link between long working hours and type 2 diabetes. To conduct the study, researchers examined data from 23 studies involving more than 222,000 men and women in the U.S., Europe, Japan and Australia who were followed for an average of more than seven years. While on the surface, researchers found a similar type 2 diabetes risk among those who worked more than 55 hours per week and those working a more standard 35-40 hour week, more in-depth analysis revealed that workers in low socioeconomic jobs did, indeed, face a significantly higher risk. In other words, the association between long work hours and higher type 2 diabetes risk was only apparent among low-income groups. In a related commentary published in the same journal... |
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