The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission wrongly determined a worker didn’t suffer a repetitive trauma injury and that it erred in strictly relying on an employer-commissioned ergonomics report. In Dale Brooks v. Benore Logistics System Inc., the high court wrote that while the workers comp commission has the …
Commission erroneously relied on report in denying claim Read More »
A contractor in Pierce County, Washington, is facing $134,500 in fines for violating more than two dozen workplace safety rules while removing a home’s popcorn ceiling, which contained asbestos, and using untrained and unprotected workers to perform the job, the Washington Department of Labor and Industries reported Wednesday. Spurred by a homeowner’s complaint to the …
Washington contractor facing fines over asbestos removal Read More »
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Wednesday that it had cited a ship-building contractor after a welder suffocated while working inside a ship’s hull last year. OSHA cited Palatka, Florida-based St. John’s Ship Building Inc. for four “serious violations” for exposing workers to oxygen deficiency by sending employees into a confined space without …
Shipbuilder cited over welder’s confined space death Read More »
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Wednesday that it cited national grocery chain Trader Joe’s Co. after a December 2023 workplace inspection uncovered numerous safety violations related to forklift operations. OSHA said it cited the company for lack of adequate safety training for forklift operators and failing to inspect forklifts at a location …
Trader Joe’s cited for forklift safety violations Read More »
An Illinois appeals court ruled Friday that a municipal worker was entitled to workers compensation benefits after a work-related fall, finding the award proper because the man was a “traveling employee” at the time of the July 2018 incident. The Appellate Court of Illinois dismissed an appeal by the Town of Cicero, which fought a …
Municipal worker was ‘traveling employee’ during fall down stairs: Court Read More »
A Louisiana appellate court has ruled that an oil field surveyor was not entitled to workers compensation benefits on his COVID-19 occupational disease claim. The Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal, on April 3, reversed a workers comp judge’s decision awarding benefits to Jacob Kibodeaux, determining that the employer, Jan’s Construction Co. Inc., should have …
Judge erred in finding COVID compensable occupational disease Read More »
New York lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a bill that would allow survivors of those whose COVID-19 deaths were alleged to have been connected to work to refile workers compensation death benefits claims that were previously denied due to timing. A.B. 9804, which was sent to the Assembly Labor Committee, is the second such bill introduced …
Stating that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s newly revised walkaround rule infringes on private property rights of employers, South Carolina lawmakers are considering a bill that would “condemn and oppose” the changes to federal workplace safety rules. H.R. 5361, introduced Tuesday, is a response to changes to OSHA’s walkaround rule that go into effect …
South Carolina proposal condemns revised OSHA walkaround rule Read More »
A Missouri Supreme Court case involving a pregnant state employee who was struck and killed in a work zone is drawing attention to the intersection between “personhood” laws – which say life begins at conception – and workers compensation exclusivity. The state’s highest court is weighing whether to permit a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf …
Pregnant worker’s death shines light on comp exclusivity Read More »
A Pennsylvania appellate court on Tuesday said the state’s Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board erred in modifying a workers comp judge’s order granting an injured worker’s request for attorneys fees in his workers comp case. The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, in Glenny Torres vs. Amazon.com Services LLC (Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board), ruled that a workers comp judge …
Comp board improperly modified claimants attorneys fees: Appeals court Read More »