U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Finds New Jersey Contractor Exposed Employees to Lead and Other Hazards at Pennsylvania Worksite

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Scot Christopher Rule LLC for exposing workers to lead and other workplace hazards as the company renovated and remodeled a worksite in Easton, Pennsylvania. The company faces $104,637 in proposed penalties.

Employment Relationship Essential Criteria for Jurisdiction

Petitioner, a New Jersey resident, sought benefits under the Workers' Compensation Act (WCA), N.J.S.A. 34:15-1 to -128, alleging injuries both as the result of a specific incident, and occupational injuries "while performing repetitive duties" as an aircraft technician while employed by United Airlines at the airport in Philadelphia. The judge of compensation dismissed both petitions for lack of jurisdiction.

Court Has Discretion to Award Counsel Fee Based on Dependent's Life Expectancy

After awarding dependent benefits under N.J.S.A. 34:15-13 to the surviving spouse of a worker who succumbed to an occupational disease, the judge of compensation awarded counsel fees based on the spouse's expected lifetime – in accordance with a 1995 amendment to N.J.S.A. 34:15-13(j) which provided that compensation shall be paid to a surviving spouse "during the entire period of survivorship" – as determined from the table of mortality and life expectancy printed as Appendix I to the New Jersey Rules of Court.

New Jersey’s Unemployment Rate Falling to Lowest Level in Recorded History

NJ Governor Phil Murphy announced that New Jersey’s unemployment rate declined to a historic low of 3.5% in June – its lowest level since state-level records began being kept 43 years ago. New Jersey’s unemployment rate also fell below the national unemployment rate of 3.7%.

NJ Supreme Court to Review Workplace Medical Marijuana Discrimination Case

The NJ Supreme Court has accepted for review a case where discrimination was alleged against an employer for failure to extend an accommodation to an employee who was using medical marijuana. The case had been dismissed by the trial court and that decision was reversed by the NJ Appellate Division in March of 2019.

Surveillance drones: Coming soon to Nebraska workers’ compensation?

Today's guest author is Jon Rehm, Esq. of the Nebraska bar.

Last summer Brody posted about the possibility of drone surveillance in workers’ compensation cases in Nebraska. Some new developments lead me to believe that drone surveillance of injured workers in Nebraska may be coming soon.

Expert Physicians Urge US to Ban Asbestos

Today's post is shared from nejm.org

"Each year, nearly 40,000 Americans die often painful, protracted deaths from diseases caused by asbestos. These deaths occur in firefighters, police officers, construction workers, miners, military veterans, shipyard workers, and maintenance workers whose exposures to asbestos are primarily occupational. Death also occurs in partners and children of such workers, whose only exposures to asbestos were from dust on clothing brought home from work by a family member. In the United States, treatment of asbestos-related diseases — including malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, and ovarian cancer1 — costs hundreds of millions of dollars each year.