A court revived a case involving an employee who was injured after a drunk taxi driver – hired by her employer – got into an accident. Manoucheka Francois worked as a train conductor for the Metro-North Commuter Railroad. Late one night after her shift ended, the railroad hired a taxi to take her from the […]
OSHA has taken enforcement action against Adidas America Inc., a global athletic apparel and footwear company, for “continuing to ignore” federal workplace safety standards, according to a DOL news release. The company now faces an additional $396,377 in new OSHA fines. The penalties stem from uncorrected fall hazards spotted by OSHA investigators in 2021 at […]
Idaho’s highest court upheld a finding that an employee who received workers’ comp benefits was not further entitled to total and permanent disability benefits as well. While working for Dependable Auto Sales in late March of 2018, Robert Nelson injured his back while lifting a garage door. An x-ray showed degenerative disease of the lower […]
On July 3, Gov. Chris Sununu signed legislation making New Hampshire the 26th state to enact its version of the CROWN Act prohibiting natural hair discrimination in the workplace. As it pertains to employment, the state’s anti-discrimination law now prohibits discrimination based on “protective hairstyles” and defines such styles those “including braids, locs, tight coils […]
Every day, companies have a chance of being notified of a claim or government audits. Some may seem simple on the surface, but small and midsize companies can be more crippled if an audit or claim strikes. While a simple detail can trigger audit, the cost to resolve will not likely be simple. While there are […]
When workers aren’t protected from deadly fall hazards, OSHA issues significant penalties, as this recent case from Illinois shows. KW Framing Inc. – a Chicago-area framing contractor – is no stranger to workplace safety violations, according to OSHA. The agency said KW Framing was “already facing debt collection for more than $100,000 in fines for […]
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has determined that a Texas contractor permitted a safety lapse that led to the death of an employee. The agency has proposed penalties totaling $260,848 against CMD Contractors, Inc., which it identified as the employer. The employer is a general contractor that provides heavy construction, […]
A new EEOC lawsuit is taking aim at an employer that allegedly violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by refusing to allow telework as a disability-related accommodation. The new suit highlights a question that is relevant for all ADA-covered employers: When is telework required as a disability-related reasonable accommodation? The lawsuit, which was filed […]
An employer broke the law by implementing a safety policy that required employees to come to it first before going to regulatory authorities with safety concerns, the Department of Labor has determined. As a result of the agency’s investigation, the employer will change its reporting policy and provide compensation to an affected employee. The target […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited a New Jersey water tower painting company for three willful and 19 serious violations after finding the contractor failed to provide safety equipment that would’ve prevented an employee from falling 80 feet to the bottom of a water tower. U.S. Tank Painting Inc. employed workers to […]
A state court decided that a settlement agreement resolving a workers’ comp claim did not require an employer to pay for surgery that was recommended years after the work injury. The reason: The worker did not prove that the work-related injury created the need for the surgery. In October of 2019, Albert Worrell injured his shoulder […]
Evolving cannabis legislation makes employee drug testing trickier than ever. But if an employee fails two drug tests in a row, it’s probably safe to move forward with termination, right? That’s likely what company leaders at Airgas USA were thinking when they fired a worker who tested positive for marijuana – and then tested positive […]
When the Federal Trade Commission announced its final rule banning most non-competes as an unfair method of competition in April, it devoted plenty of time and effort to explaining why it firmly believed it has the authority to impose such a sweeping mandate. That authority is now being tested by several pending lawsuits – and […]
Question: Do employees have to be paid for the time spent booting up and shutting down computers? Though the question sounds quite simple, it’s at the center of a long-running FLSA dispute that the Ninth Circuit recently heard for a second time. Here’s what happened — and where the case currently stands. Company uses computer-based […]
Snap Inc. – the parent company of Snapchat – has agreed to pay $15 million to resolve gender discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims brought by female employees of the social media platform, the California Civil Rights Division (CRD) has announced. In addition to the eight-figure financial payout, the company must provide significant non-monetary relief. This […]
Do you know what the top hazard is for workers in the construction industry? An Illinois construction contractor is well aware of it, now that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has hit it with a six-figure penalty following several worksite inspections. The agency said the contractor wrongfully exposed its workers to the top hazard […]
