MI - Federal Court Upholds Dismissal of Injured Worker's Discrimination Claims
09/12/2025 | 0
A federal appellate court upheld the summary dismissal of an injured worker’s disability discrimination claims.
Jay Pemberton worked for Bell’s Brewery Inc. He injured his back at work in 2016 and again in 2018.
After the second injury, the brewery enrolled Pemberton in its workers’ compensation program, providing medical care and wage-loss benefits.
From December 2018 to November 2019, Pemberton’s physicians imposed several restrictions on his ability to work. The brewery initially accommodated him by assigning him light-duty work within the brewhouse.
When t...
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West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a coal mine worker’s claim for an eye injury.
Case: Vossen v. Marshall County Coal Resources, 08/29/2025, published.
Facts: Brian Vossen II worked for Marshall County Coal Resources. He sought medical treatment for right eye pain on June 5, 2024. Vossen reported that he wears contact lenses and that he was uncertain if he got something in his eye at work.
He was diagnosed with a corneal ulcer and advised to go to the emergency department at Ruby Memorial Hospital.
The hospital noted that Vossen reported that he ...
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld a determination that a worker had suffered compensable repetitive trauma injuries from which he had fully recovered.
Case: Vargas-Abreu v. The Clemens Family Corp. (WCAB), No. 1094 C.D. 2024, 09/09/2025, unpublished.
Facts and procedural history: Federico Vargas-Abreu began working for The Clemens Family Corp. in September 2017. He slipped and fell on ice in his workplace parking lot in February 2021.
CFC issued a notice of compensation payable for medical benefits for a head injury.
In March 2022, Vargas-Abreu filed a claim petition, alleging ...
A New York appellate court ruled that a World Trade Center Oculus worker was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law claims.
Case: Hernandez v. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, No. 24386/16, 09/04/2025, published.
Facts: Structure Tone Inc., the general contractor overseeing pre-buildouts of various retail stores in the World Trade Center Oculus Project, subcontracted certain drywall work to Centre Street Systems Inc.
After the Apple Store prebuild was completed in March 2016, it was turned over to Apple's general contractor, Sajo Inc., to oversee the build-out and f...
California’s Insurance Commissioner, Ricardo Lara, recently increased the advisory pure premium rate by 8.7%, to $1.52 per $100 of payroll for workers’ compensation policies incepting after Sept 1, 2025.
California employers should be highly alarmed. While most states are seeing premium decreases, California employers’ costs continue to rise.
Lara blamed (in part) higher medical treatment costs for the premium hike. However, a new report from the Workers Compensation Research Institute offers a crucial insigh...
The California Assembly voted to send the governor bills that would modify eligibility requirements for second-injury fund claims and give workers at state hospitals a presumption that heart trouble arose from employment.
The Assembly on Wednesday concurred in amendments made to AB 1329 and AB 1125 while those measures were in the Senate.
AB 1329 would require injured workers filing claims with the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund to provide substantial evidence of a prior permanent partial disability that causes a loss of earnings or an inability to perform activities of daily living...
Shelley Kessler and Nicholas Roxborough were reappointed to four-year terms on the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation.
California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas appointed Kessler to represent labor and appointed Roxborough to represent employers through Dec. 31, 2029.
Kessler is a former executive secretary-treasurer of the San Mateo County Central Labor Council and former vice president of the California State Labor Federation.
She was first appointed to CHSWC in May 2014.
Roxborough is co-managing partner of Roxborough, Pomerance, Nye & Adrean...
The International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions is offering electronic data interchange training.
The EDI Claims Foundations training is designed for those who are new to EDI, and it focuses on claims release version 3.1. The program will cover topics including EDI basics, submitting first and subsequent reports of injury, jurisdiction-specific workflows and state-specific insights.
The program consists of self-directed work and a trio of two-hour Zoom meetings in November.
A program agenda and registration information are available here.
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The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will review the workers' compensation set-aside reporting process during an Oct. 1 webinar.
The program will cover the new reporting requirements implemented in April, as well as best practices for reporting set-aside arrangements. CMS said the webinar is intended to broadly address set-aside reporting processes, not to answer questions about specific cases.
CMS said participants can send general questions about reporting work comp set-asides in advance of the webinar to PL110-173SEC111-comments@cms.hhs.gov.
The webinar is at 2 p.m. Ea...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 26, 2025
LatinoComp to Honor Judge Daniel A. Dobrin, of the Los Angeles Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, at Annual Awards Dinner
Los Angeles, CA — LatinoComp is proud to announce that Judge Daniel A. Dobrin, a respected leader in the Workers’ Compensation community, will be honored at the upcom...
The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a staffing agency was liable for the payment of benefits for a worker’s fatal accident.
Employer Solutions Staffing Group LLC, a national staffing agency, contracted with Atlas Leasing, a staffing recruiting agent, to recruit and place employees with third parties. The agreement required ESSG to furnish and keep workers’ compensation insurance covering all recruited employees.
Peter Billeter owned and operated two companies: Billeter Marine LLC, and Billeter Roads and Forestry LLC.
BM’s work included marine services, ...
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected an attorney’s assertion that he was entitled to additional fees for successfully defeating an employer’s intoxication defense to a worker’s claim.
Case: Prim v. Har Jehuda Cemetery (WCAB), No. 1443 C.D. 2023, 09/04/2025, unpublished.
Facts and procedural history: Michael Shields worked as a landscaper for Har Jehuda Cemetery. He suffered injuries when a lawnmower ran over his foot.
Shields filed a workers’ compensation claim, which the cemetery contested. Attorney Joseph A. Prim represented Shields from July 2020 throug...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a judge did not suffer a compensable knee injury while descending a flight of stairs.
Case: Harper v. City of Elkins, No. 25-ICA-101, 08/29/2025, published.
Facts: Rebecca Harper worked for the City of Elkins as a municipal court judge. She allegedly injured her right knee while descending stairs at work in August 2014.
Harper testified that she did not slip or trip while descending the stairs; the only thing she was carrying at the time of the incident was her phone and her office keys in her left hand, an...
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that an employer was entitled to the dismissal of a worker’s claim based on her failure to receive or seek benefits, including medical treatment, for a period of six months after her claim was filed.
Case: OBI Holding Co. v. Schultz-Butzbach, No. 122347, 09/09/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Shaneese Schultz-Butzbach worked for OBI Holding Co. She filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting she had injured her knee at work.
Upon an order of an administrative law judge, Schultz-Butzbach had her knee examined by Dr. Kevin Hargrove...
The California Senate passed bills that would extend the heart trouble presumption to certain state hospital workers and presume that heat injuries are compensable for agricultural workers, sending the measures back to the Assembly for concurrence with recent amendments.
AB 1125, by Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, D-Elk Grove, would extend the heart trouble presumption to certain state hospital workers.
The presumption would cover peace officers for the Department of State Hospitals as well as officers and employees with custodial duties for the Department of Corrections.
Nguyen on Sept. 4...
The California Senate unanimously approved Assembly amendments to bills dealing with contractor coverage requirements and safety standards for silica exposure and manufactured stone.
The Senate on Tuesday concurred with amendments to SB 20 that eliminated a proposal to have the Department of Industrial Relations develop a training program for businesses cutting stone slab products.
The amended bill, by Sen. Caroline Menjivar, D-Van Nuys, would require slab shop owners to attest in writing that they've provided appropriate training to employees crushing, cutting or machining artificial st...
The Actuarial Committee for the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California will discuss strategies for more quickly identifying trends with cumulative trauma claims during a meeting on Tuesday.
The WCIRB said preliminary data from 2024 shows that the share of indemnity claims involving cumulative trauma increased significantly.
"However, as CT claims are typically identified using the type of loss and injury type codes from unit statistical report data, which is summarized more than two years after the policy year completes, more recent trends in CT claim ...
