The Florida Legislature voted late Friday to abolish the state Bureau of Rehabilitation and Reemployment Services and allow the state to contract the rehabilitation of injured workers out to private vocational counselors. The Senate voted 36 to 1 to approve a report on House Bill 5203 from a House-Senate conference committee. The House approved the[...]
A task force comprised of multiple state agencies fined contractors building a townhouse project $45,025 for not carrying workers’ compensation insurance and multiple safety violations, according to a report by Hawaii News Now. Deputy State Labor Director Audrey Hidano said seven contractors and subcontractors at the project in West Oahu were fined a combined $19,550[...]
A grocery store did not commit disability discrimination when it fired a manager with Parkinson’s disease for using a painkiller without a prescription, a New Jersey appellate court ruled. Case: Martin v. Quick Chek Corp., No. A-2637-10T2, 1/18/12, unpublished. Facts: Erik Martin, a store manager for Quick Chek Corp., was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in[...]
The owners of a mixed-use property are liable for the workers’ compensation claim of an uninsured contractor, the Supreme Court of Alaska concluded. Case: Trudell v. Hibbert, No. S-13608, 2/17/12, published. Facts: Lawrence Trudell, an employee of Phillips Construction Co., was injured while climbing a ladder down from the roof of a building he was[...]
By Bill Kidd, Central Bureau Chief Oklahoma lawmakers are taking aim at employers who don’t carry required workers’ compensation coverage – and at anyone engaged in workers’ compensation fraud – with proposals to raise penalties and to increase regulators’ resources. Senate Bill 1878 by Sen. Harry Coates, R-Seminole, a construction firm owner, would increase the[...]