Quote of the day
“I don’t know a workers’ comp attorney who would take a covid-19 case. You’d have to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the disease was contracted at work, and the odds of that are minuscule.”
Mark Martin, Fayetteville, Arkansas attorney for the AFL-CIO
Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Las Vegas-area policeman gets new chance at workers’ comp
A 41-year-old Henderson, Nevada policeman who claimed that years of police duties worsened his progressive hearing loss will get another chance at workers’ compensation after a decision from the Nevada Court of Appeals. The city had argued he did not establish his hearing loss was caused by a series of accidents because the law would require him to submit a workers’ compensation claim for each one. Las Vegas Review-Journal
Arkansas: Workers’ comp claims related to pandemic may face long odds
An employee who catches COVID-19 at the workplace can file a workers’ compensation claim, according to Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson; but such a claim would be almost impossible to win, the president of the state chamber of commerce and the attorney for the Arkansas AFL-CIO say. Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Wisconsin: Local businesses face lawsuits over safety as they reopen
Unfortunately, if you are running a small business, lawsuits from reopening could come in many forms. Collecting employee health data, requiring temperature checks or regular testing can expose the business to violations of privacy regulations. And it is not just employees, it is also customers, suppliers, vendors; pretty much anyone who walks into the business and later tests positive for COVID-19. Milwaukee Independent
North Carolina appeals court affirms Industrial Commission on traveling employee’s injury
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled that even though an employee was on a work trip when he fell and was injured at his hotel, because he was doing his laundry the day before returning home, his injury was not compensable. North Carolina Lawyers’ Weekly [may require registration]
Low-quality medical masks are being introduced into America’s supply chain, and some are making their way to frontline workers who have daily direct contact with COVID patients. There’s no way of knowing how many low-grade masks have already made their way to the US. What are some of the signs that a respirator may be counterfeit? brproud