California: EDD signs no-bid contract to run phone center
The California Employment Development Department has signed a no-bid contract to run the agency’s expanded phone center during economic upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The contract was approved without other bids due to emergency orders signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in March. The state’s unemployment rate nearly tripled to 15.5 percent in April. KCRA [with video]
Arizona: Scottsdale provides additional health benefits to city employees
The Scottsdale, Arizona City Council last week approved on consent a resolution authorizing additional emergency sick leave pay for city emergency responders and complete coverage of claims for employees and dependents for COVID-19 treatment. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act allowed the city to offer up to 80 hours of paid leave for employees who get COVID-19 and provided the city an option to exclude emergency responders from the new federal leave. Scottsdale Independent
Attorney discusses ‘distancing at the office’
As the restrictions of COVID-19 begin to lift, if you are uncomfortable with going to the office, will you be able to work remotely? What safety precautions must an employer take? What are your rights if you believe you will get sick in the workplace? Nyack News & Views
West Virginia: County’s insurance costs rise
Monongalia County, West Virginia commissioners have announced new insurance costs for general liability, workers’ compensation and health plans for county employees. Through the West Virginia Community Risk Pool, the county’s general liability and workers’ compensation plan is effective July 1, 2020 and comes with a slight increase. West Virginia MetroNews
Medical marijuana: Reasonable and necessary medical care for injured workers?
In Pennsylvania, employers and workers’ compensation carriers remain in legal limbo, waiting on judicial guidance from the state’s highest courts in the face of increasing claims from injured workers to pay for medical marijuana, writes attorney Frank Wickersham, a shareholder with Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin. Will it be considered reasonable and necessary medical treatment under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act? Law.com/Legal Intelligencer
New York: Seized bank account to help refund victims of basketball academy fraud
Money from a bank account seized by the New York Attorney General will be used to at least partially compensate victims who were defrauded by a man who claimed to operate an elite basketball academy in Endicott, New York. Dissatisfied customers have first claim on the bank account cash even though the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board and the Department of Labor have liens against the business. Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin