Monkeypox in the Workplace

Monkeypox is not merely a sexual or geographic disease it is an infectious disease that can cause many workers to be exposed. It is a contagious disease that is transmitted by body contact. Infectious diseases are compensable under most workers’ compensation acts.

Back to Work is Going to be Back to COVID

The US Centers for Disease Control [CDC] announced today a continuation of its flawed strategy to reduce the plateaued high transmission rates of COVID throughout the US. As workers return from summer vacation, COVID transmission will remain very high, and the workforce will be subject to primary and repeat COVID infections.

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.

Federal Joint Study on Workplace Violence Released

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released Indicators of Workplace Violence, 2019, which provides findings on fatal and nonfatal crimes that occurred in the workplace or away from work but over work-related issues. Findings are presented for 13 indicators of workplace violence, using data from five federal data collections.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Safety and Health Topics: Heat Stress

Workers' compensation claims result from heat stress and exposure. As the Mid-West and Northeast heatwave is now soaring to record temperatures, workers should protect themselves from heat exposure. Today's post was shared by Safe Healthy Workers and comes from www.cdc.gov

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.” 

National Online Dialog on Long COVID’s Workplace Challenges

In an effort to better understand long COVID-19 in U.S. workplaces, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Surgeon General are inviting the public to join a national online dialogue beginning today to gather ideas to better support workers coping with symptoms, their co-workers and their employers.

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.

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.

"Unmasking COVID" in 2022, Where Are We Now?

A panel of infectious disease experts and public health specialists of the Veterans Administration who have been involved in the national COVID response discuss strategies to contain the spread of the Omicron variant and stay safe.

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. 

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. 

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.

Rules Adopted to End NJ Pension Cost Shifting

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development [DLWD] adopted Rules embracing the recommendations of  NJ State Comptroller concerning NJ State Pensions. A February 2021 investigative report by the NJ State Comptroller raised critical issues common to other state and national collateral social insurance programs challenged by current fiscal limitations. The rules are effective as of March 7, 2022.  54 N.J.R.448(a). The Rules were adopted without change and have retroactive application.

COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Lifted - Terminating The Rebuttable Presumption

At his final COVID-19 press briefing, NJ Governor Phil Murphy announced the signing of Executive Order No. 292, which lifts the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The order effectively ends the liberalized span of time that established a rebuttable presumption in favor of the employee as to the causal relationship between employment and COVID-19 on March 7, 2022.

Legislation Would Improve Access To Resources And Education For People Living With Long COVID

Long-COVID, Post Acute COVID Syndrome. [PASC] is a compensable illness that many workers now suffer from and seek workers’ compensation benefits. The medical condition affects approximately one-third of those who have contracted COVID. It is a  costly and incapacitating condition that lingers long after the acute stage of SARS-CoV-2 passes. 

Order: Workers' Compensation Law 2022 Update

Jon Gelman’s* newly revised and updated treatise on Workers’ Compensation Law can now be ordered from Thomson Reuters®. The treatise is the most complete and research integrated work available on NJ Workers’ Compensation law.

Another Hurdle to Prove an Occupational Disease Claim

An attempt to restrict the admission of scientific evidence has been proposed on the Federal level. Even though states have maintained their independence for the most part on this issue, the suggested changes signal an emerging national effort to restrict further the admissibility of scientific evidence that may trickle down to the state judicial systems.

Governor Murphy Reinstates Public Health Emergency Triggering Presumptions of Compensability

Governor Phil Murphy today reinstated a Public Health Emergency, effective immediately, in order to ensure that the State is able to respond to the continued threat of COVID-19 and the rapidly spreading Omicron variant. The declaration of a public health emergency by statute triggers the workers’ compensation compensability presumptions for essential workers.

Innovation is Necessary to Meet the Challenge of COVID in 2022

COVID is the most extensive occupational exposure event in the history of the United States. Workplaces are now primed for a massive wave of compensation claims due to the Omicron variant. A recent study provides a potential opportunity for employers and insurance companies to reduce their risk exposure through early sequencing and treatment proactively.