Uber Pays $100M Fine in NJ Driver Misclassification Case

Uber Technologies Inc. and a subsidiary have submitted a $100 million payment to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s (NJDOL’s) Unemployment Trust Fund after an audit found the ride-share companies improperly classified hundreds of thousands of drivers as independent contractors, depriving them of crucial safety-net benefits such as unemployment, temporary disability, and family leave insurance, and failed to make required contributions toward unemployment, temporary disability, and workforce development.

CMS Expands Options for Defense Submissions for CRCP

Commercial Repayment Center Portal (CRCP) Defense Submission Frequently Asked Questions

Recently a change was made to the portal that allows CRCP users to associate defenses to the individual claims included in recovery demands. This more granular response to demands, where Group Health Plans (GHPs) specify the basis of defense submissions, allows for more efficient and accurate reviews of the submitted defenses. What follows are answers to frequently asked questions received by the Commercial Repayment Center (CRC) in regard to this change. Additional details on the functionality are available in Version 3.2 of the CRCP User Guide, which is available in the “Reference Materials” section of the CRCP.

Dual Employment and the Proposed NLRB Joint-Employer Standard

Workers’ compensation claims may be pursued against two companies if there is found to be joint employment. While case law defines employment status, the US National Labor Relations Board has issued a proposed Rule to substantiate a dual employer status.

NJ Workers’ Compensation Benefit Rates Increase in 2023

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) announced increases in the maximum benefit rates for Workers’ Compensation for the calendar year 2023. 

Top 10 Workplace Safety and Health Violations

The following is a list of the top 10 most frequently cited standards following inspections of worksites by federal OSHA for all industries. OSHA publishes the list to alert employers about these commonly cited standards so they can take steps to find and fix recognized hazards addressed in these and other standards before OSHA shows up. Far too many preventable injuries, illnesses, and deaths occur in the workplace that are related to these top 10 cited standards.

Use of Opioid Settlement Funds in NJ

As part of the Murphy Administration’s ongoing efforts to help New Jerseyans impacted by the opioid crisis, and in recognition of Overdose Awareness Day, Governor Phil Murphy announced additional steps the Administration is taking in New Jersey. Through a new online portal and Executive Order No. 305, the Governor has established two methods through which members of the public and relevant stakeholders can provide their input on the best use of the opioid settlement funds that New Jersey is receiving.

Appeals Court Rejects Effort to Compel OSHA to Retain Healthcare ETS

On Friday, an Appellate Court rejected the UNIONS' effort, including the National Nurses, United, to compel the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to retain the Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS).

NJ Workers at Risk Now for West Nile Virus

New Jersey workers again are now at risk for West Nile Virus. The warnings of the mosquito-borne illness are an alert for New Jersey workers to take adequate precautions against this infectious disease.The New Jersey Department of Health has confirmed the state’s first human cases of West Nile Virus (WNV) this year.

NJ Sues Several Companies for Environmental Pollution

Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Commissioner of Environmental Protection (DEP) Shawn M. LaTourette announced today the filing of seven new environmental enforcement actions across the state.

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.

Household Contact COVID Case Status in California Supreme Court

The defense brief has now been submitted to California Supreme Court for review on the question of whether the workers’ compensation act does 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. 

US DOT Bill of Rights for Passengers with Disabilities

In its ongoing work to protect airline passengers, USDOT moves forward with pro-consumer actions.

NJDOL Uses Expanded Powers to Stop Worker Exploitation at Job Sites

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. 

An Abnormal Hurricane Season is Still Predicted

A major disrupters in the workers’ compensation system is hurricanes. Now is the time to prepare for such events. The 2022 Season is still predicted to be an abnormally high season. 

Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Claims

Drinking water at Camp Lejune, North Carolina, was contaminated by toxic substances, and it is estimated that over one million military personnel, their families, and civilians who lived and worked near Camp Lejune training facility between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, may have been exposed to hazardous substances.

Waiting for a Treatment for Long COVID Creates Uncertainty

The workers’ compensation system works because there is certainty in the amount and type of benefits available. The lack of an authorized treatment for long COVID disrupts that model and leaves employees, employers, and insurance companies with an unpredictable future.

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.

The Eleventh Circuit Holds 4 Year Statute of Limitations Applies in MSP Private Actions

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that a four-year statute of limitation applies to private actions pursued under the Medicare Secondary Payer Act [MSPA]. 

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.

EPA Launches Community Engagement Efforts on New Ethylene Oxide Risk Information

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just announced its plans to engage and inform communities, states, Tribes, Territories, and stakeholders about up-to-date information on the risks posed by air emissions of ethylene oxide (EtO) from commercial sterilizers, as well as EPA’s efforts to address these risks. EPA is releasing new information on specific facilities where lifetime risk levels are the highest to people who live nearby and is encouraging impacted communities to participate in a series of public engagements to learn more. Later this year, EPA expects to propose an air pollution regulation to protect public health by addressing EtO emissions at commercial sterilizers.