The New York Game: A Baseball Tale Steeped in Labor Struggles

Kevin Baker's "The New York Game" isn't just a love letter to baseball and the Big Apple. It's a rich tapestry that weaves the evolution of America's pastime with the burgeoning organized labor movement and the fight for workplace safety. While baseball takes center stage, Baker doesn't shy away from the harsh realities early ballplayers face.

US Bans Asbestos

Today, March 18, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule to prohibit ongoing uses of chrysotile asbestos, the only known form of asbestos currently used in or imported to the United States. The ban on ongoing uses of asbestos is the first rule to be finalized under the 2016 amendments to the nation’s chemical safety law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which received near-unanimous support in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. The action marks a major milestone for chemical safety after more than three decades of inadequate protections and serious delays during the previous administration to implement the 2016 amendments.

OSHA Fines Paterson NJ Contractor $1Million for Fall Violations

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a New Jersey contractor for again exposing workers to fall hazards, this time while working at a construction site in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.

COVID-19 Supplemental Benefits for Healthcare Workers Proposed in Legislation

Legislation (A3504) has been introduced to establish the Health Care Workers COVID-19 Supplemental Benefits Program in the Division of Workers' Compensation.

OSHA Fines NJ Container Company $437,860 for Safety and Health Violation

A transportation company faces $437,860 in federal penalties after the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated its Paulsboro, NJ, location and found workplace safety and health hazards.

Long Overdue Public Safety Worker Coverage

Legislation has been reintroduced to provide workers’ compensation benefits for certain public safety workers who developed an occupational illness or injury flowing from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. A closer look at the legislation reveals that it removes defenses such as causal relationship, statute of limitations, and jurisdiction. Complicated statutory and regulatory challenges may ultimately offset the benefits offered. 

Long COVID Continues as a Workplace Crisis

Long COVID continues to impact the lives of US workers. Millions of Americans live with long COVID and its many symptoms. These include fatigue, cognitive impairment (commonly referred to as muscle or joint pain, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, sleep difficulties, mood changes, and more. With millions of Americans suffering daily, more must be done to address this crisis.

NJ Expands Compensation Benefits for First Responders

NJ Governor Phil Murphy signed A-5909/S-4267, which revises workers' compensation coverage for certain injuries to certain volunteer and professional public safety and law enforcement personnel. The bill amends current workers’ compensation law to add that a response to an emergency, including work sufficient to cause certain injuries or death, is compensable.

Not A Violation of Public Policy

In rejecting an employee’s attempt to go forward with a lawsuit directly against an employer, the NJ Appellate Division ruled, in an unreported case*, that an employee, in a novel argument,  may assert the “violation of public policy” as an allegation.

Household Contact Awarded $30 Million Verdict for Mesothelioma

Employers have a responsibility not only to their employees but also to their household contacts, individuals who live in the employee’s home. Employees who are exposed at work may carry the toxic substances home on their clothes or their body.

Long COVID-Related Illness is a Significant Cause of Death

Long COVID-Related deaths are statistically significant and will be reflected in an increase in workers' compensation dependency awards. More Than 3,500 Americans Have Died from Long COVID-Related Illness in the First 30 Months of the Pandemic. 

OSHA Cites Oakland NJ Company with $257,931 in Penalties

A U.S. Department of Labor inspection in June 2023 at an Oakland, NJ manufacturing company — that followed reports of two workers being injured — found employees exposed to dozens of serious safety and health hazards.

Time to Review Cybersecurity

As the year is winding down for law firms, it would be a good time to review their cybersecurity protocols. A major threat is ransomware attacks. 

Top Blog Posts of 2023

It has been a busy year for the Workers' Compensation blog. This blog has had over 2 million views. Here is a list of the most popular posts in 2023. 

Happy New Year!

NJ Rates to Rise in 2024

New Jersey is set to become one of a handful of states with a minimum wage of at least $15/hour on January 1, 2024 when the rate increases to $15.13/hour, surpassing the goal set by Governor Murphy and the Legislature in 2019. 

NATIONAL CENSUS OF FATAL OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES IN 2022

There were 5,486 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2022, a 5.7-percent increase from 5,190 in 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The fatal work injury rate was 3.7 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, up from 3.6 per 100,000 FTE in 2021.  These data are from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).

TSCA Update

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is beginning the process of prioritizing five additional toxic chemicals for risk evaluation under the nation’s premier chemical safety law. If, during the 12-month-long statutory process, the EPA designates these five chemicals as high-priority substances, the EPA will then begin risk evaluations for these chemicals. 

Voluntary Departure

A student attending college and working full time was permitted temporary disability benefits despite the alleged defense of "Voluntary Departure" from the workforce. The court's decision is unsurprising since that terminology is absent from the Workers’ Compensation Act.

Not an Exception

In most instances, the sole remedy for a worker injured at work is Workers’ Compensation Act [WCA] benefits. Even if the employer fails to obtain workers’ compensation insurance, the employee remains limited to those remedies provided under the WCA.

Shameless

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) has posted the names of 14 additional businesses to its Workplace Accountability in Labor List (aka The WALL), bringing to 82 the total number of delinquent employers with outstanding liabilities for violations of state wage, benefit or tax laws.