I read with great interest Bob Wilson’s post yesterday signaling that the Tennessee Opt Out “initiative” may be DOA this year. Indeed, I’d been checking Bill Tracking Reports since the...
2016 Opt Out Legislation: Is it as “Inevitable” as Some Have Hoped/Feared? 2016 Opt Out Legislation: Is it as “Inevitable” as Some Have Hoped/Feared?Original Workers’ Comp Scheme: Equal Treatment of All Injured Employees Within a State In Orwell’s classic allegorical work, Animal Farm, Snowball and Napoleon, recognizing the horrors of the status quo,...
Orwellian Equality: Oklahoma’s Controversial Workers’ Comp Opt Out Legislation Orwellian Equality: Oklahoma’s Controversial Workers’ Comp Opt Out LegislationAnyone familiar with the FedEx, Uber/Lyft litigation going on at various levels in California’s courts and before the state’s administrative agencies knows that the Golden State appears to have “a...
Now California’s Pro Sports Cheerleaders are Employees Now California’s Pro Sports Cheerleaders are EmployeesWith the divorce rate for U.S. marriages hovering at almost 50 percent, courts and legislatures are called upon to weigh two conflicting rules related to workers’ compensation benefits when it...
How One State Bucked Trend of Allowing Former Spouse to Access Post-Divorce Workers’ Comp Benefits How One State Bucked Trend of Allowing Former Spouse to Access Post-Divorce Workers’ Comp BenefitsEarlier today, the Supreme Court of Colorado, affirming a split decision of the state’s Court of Appeals, held that under the plain language of Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24–34–402.5, Colorado’s...
Colorado High Court Ok’s Firing of Worker For State-Authorized Use of Medical Marijuana Colorado High Court Ok’s Firing of Worker For State-Authorized Use of Medical MarijuanaEarlier this month, a California appellate court struck down a challenge by two staffing companies that had sued the state, alleging that Cal. Lab. Code § 3701.9, added in 2012...
California Court: Leasing Employers and Temporary Service Employers May Not Self-Insure California Court: Leasing Employers and Temporary Service Employers May Not Self-InsureA bill introduced in the South Carolina Senate on April 16th (2015 Bill Text SC S.B. 674) would make workers’ compensation coverage optional for the vast majority of the state’s...
South Carolina Bill Would Make Workers’ Comp Coverage Optional for Most Employers South Carolina Bill Would Make Workers’ Comp Coverage Optional for Most EmployersYesterday (April 28, 2015), the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, in a 7–2 vote, declined to assume original jurisdiction in a civil action challenging the constitutionality of the state’s new and...
Oklahoma High Court Refuses to Fast-Track Case Challenging Constitutionality of Workers’ Compensation Opt Out Law Oklahoma High Court Refuses to Fast-Track Case Challenging Constitutionality of Workers’ Compensation Opt Out LawRecent Federal District Court Discusses ERISA’s Strong Preemption Provisions As I have noted on multiple other occasions, one of the distinctive features of the workers’ compensation “opt out” scheme is...
Who’s “Opting Out” of Workers’ Comp—Employers or the States Themselves? Who’s “Opting Out” of Workers’ Comp—Employers or the States Themselves?E-businesses like Uber and Lyft, which utilize smartphone or tablet apps to connect passengers and drivers with vehicles for hire are beginning to carve out a niche within the economy....
SC Court Signals That Uber Business Model Probably OK in the Palmetto State SC Court Signals That Uber Business Model Probably OK in the Palmetto StateAs I mentioned in an earlier post, juries in two civil actions pending before a federal court sitting in California will be allowed to determine if Uber and Lyft have...
Proposed Alaska Legislation Would Clarify That Uber and Lyft Drivers Are Not Entitled to Comp Benefits Proposed Alaska Legislation Would Clarify That Uber and Lyft Drivers Are Not Entitled to Comp BenefitsEarlier today I had the pleasure of speaking at a “Spring Seminar” sponsored by Injured Workers’ Advocates, a group of South Carolina claimants’ attorneys who have gathered at the Isle...
Sunny Greetings from Isle of Palms, SC Sunny Greetings from Isle of Palms, SC