Author Archives: Rod Rehm and Emily Wray Stander

Examining the Ethics, Economics of Infections

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What is a person’s responsibility toward keeping fellow humans safe and healthy? How much of that responsibility falls onto an employer when it means sick people working because they don’t have sick leave, exposing coworkers and customers? And how much of that is personal responsibility that means a worker won’t get paid for taking a sick day that they didn’t have or even risk losing that job because they’re sick?

We have lots of questions with not as many answers as we would like, but having a conversation is a start towards figuring out the solutions.

Originally, this blog post was going to include discussion with Ebola as the jumping point, and this article, The Ethics of Infection from The New York Times, offered so many good points and ways to consider where individual rights versus the greater good of society should intersect.

Unfortunately, for at least 81 people with whooping cough (pertussis) in Lancaster County, where Lincoln, Neb., is located, this discussion is now more than just an academic exercise, with very concrete life ramifications. A recent Lincoln Journal Star article had a lot of interesting details. “Whooping cough cases in Lancaster County are nearing an all-time high, and that number is expected to keep climbing for the foreseeable future, according to the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department.”

There has also got to be an economic effect, as loved ones must be taking care of many of these sick people and missing work, even if they’re not sick themselves. “According to health records, 65 percent of confirmed cases in Lancaster County have been kids ages 6 to 19.” And whooping cough is “extremely contagious, especially in the first few weeks.” Here’s what the article said about the span of time needed to stop the spread of the infection to others. Dr. Phil Boucher of Lincoln Pediatric Group and Tim Timmons, communicable disease specialist with the health department were quoted:

“People receiving antibiotics should stay home from school, work or day care for the full five-day course of treatment, Boucher said.

Those not receiving antibiotic treatment should stay home for three weeks after the onset of violent coughing, Timmons said.”

So whoever is taking care of those with whooping cough (or is sick themselves with pertussis) is looking at between five and 15 sick days. And if the caregiver then gets sick, random interactions, such as those highlighted in the article in the Times, can mean exposures for people who have no sick days. Then for workers with no sick days, and often no health insurance, the best of many really bad decisions has to be made. A previous blog post addressed the challenge of no sick days, in reference to the flu, but it can easily be adapted to the whooping cough situation above.

When it comes to offering solutions to the very real issues that arise with infections, we continue to urge employers to realize the value of paying sick employees to stay home and not expose others, regardless of the contagion. In addition, though it is a pretty controversial conversation, getting vaccines for infections often lessens the severity of the sickness, when it doesn’t outright prevent the sickness, in a person. Herd immunity also protects those who, for various reasons like allergies to vaccine ingredients, cannot be vaccinated themselves.

Finally, experts quoted in The New York Times article urge people to consider the greater good for society, a theme that shows up in many contexts time and again in the firm’s blog posts. Because citizens of the United States are focused on how tough they are as individuals and how they will just “get over” a sickness, many don’t realize that attitude is a luxury for many people for many reasons – some that are more obvious than others. Because a sick person doesn’t necessarily know, and sometimes doesn’t seem to care, about a worker’s immune-compromised family member and what exposure could mean in the long run.

Lawrence O. Gostin, a professor of law at Georgetown University who specializes in public health law and human rights closes the NYT article by talking about how far there is to go.

“America has gotten so focused on rugged individualism and the autonomy of the person that we forget we have wider ethical responsibilities to our families and communities and our country,” said Professor Gostin, who bows rather than shaking hands when he is sick and sends home ill students attending his classes. “This me-first mentality is what I think promotes irresponsibility when it comes to public health.”

Let’s hope all those with whooping cough get better as the infection runs its course and that all humans can have a safer and healthier holiday season and 2015.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Workplace Injury, Workplace Safety and tagged , , , , , .

Examining the Reality of Workers’ Memorial Day

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We write this blog post to bring attention to an article that was a big dose of perspective about all the recent Workers’ Memorial Day celebrations. The official day is April 28 for Workers’ Memorial Day, and many groups spend a lot of effort in organizing events, discussing safety, and holding memorials. Unfortunately, as the article points out, those efforts don’t always translate into safer workplaces and fewer fatalities.

What Karen C. Yotis and Robin E. Kobayashi did was talk to “a few thought leaders in the workplace safety arena” to get the reality of the situation by asking the question: “Has worker safety improved at all during the past year?” The experts they spoke with included “Tammy Miser, Founder/Executive Director of United Support & Memorial For Workplace Fatalities; Kim Bobo, Executive Director for Interfaith Worker Justice; Charles R. ‘Chuck’ Davoli, 2014 President of Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group and a Louisiana Workers Advocate; and Rebecca Shafer, attorney, author, and a workers’ compensation/risk management maven who has spent her professional life advocating for safe workplaces.”

There is often a disconnect between thought and reflection and then taking action to change a situation. The blog post treads into the waters of holding people and businesses accountable and also taking action that leads to long-term change in the form of safer work environments.

Attorneys Rod and Jon Rehm are members of WILG’s Board of Directors, which is currently led by Mr. Davoli, and the other attorneys at Rehm, Bennett & Moore are all members of WILG because of the group’s efforts towards both accountability for businesses and safety for workers.

While we urge you to read the entire blog post that’s linked to in the first paragraph, here are a couple of thought-provoking highlights.

First, it is striking that a “cost containment expert” like Ms. Shafer describes how businesses must focus on safety. Although it’s at the end of the linked article, Ms. Shafer’s commentary is excellent – the article says that she “speaks out so passionately on the employer’s obligation to keep an unrelenting focus on safety.” Here’s a partial quote that she gave to the article: “ … the bottom line is that each employer needs to make safety the #1 priority. … Until worker safety is TOP priority, a company will continue to have very little success in achieving a balanced workers’ compensation insurance program.” She writes about making safety a higher priority than profitability, but realistically, companies would be much more profitable if they were also much safer.

Finally, Mr. Davoli shared a list of “nine safety elements” for “the construction and building trades” that a Workplace Safety Task Force created in Louisiana with WILG’s help.

Here’s that excellent list:

“1. A designated safety budget as part of the normal operating budget.

 2. A formal safety committee that meets on a regular schedule.

 3. An employer that pays employees for the hours they spend attending voluntary off-duty safety training sessions.

 4. A formal personal protective equipment training program.

 5. Written and formal safety goals that are updated periodically.

 6. Safety training for subcontractors.

 7. Detailed safety reports to employees on a regular basis.

 8. Regularly scheduled safety training programs for existing employees.

 9. A disciplinary procedure for employees who commit unsafe acts.”

The reflection portion of Workers’ Memorial Day must turn to action. The reality is that until businesses buy into and change their work culture to be safe, there will always be a need to remember those who were killed at work.

Thanks to Ms. Yotis and Ms. Kobayashi for writing such an excellent piece.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Workers' Compensation and tagged , , , .

Remember Workers’ Memorial Day on April 28

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The writers of this blog spend a lot of time encouraging readers to reflect by thinking about the lives of others who are less fortunate, where each individual reader has been, and where they are headed. We often encourage advocates for workers’ rights and safety. This encouragement does sometimes come at the expense of business profits. But keeping workers safe is always the right thing to do.

Observing Workers’ Memorial Day on Monday, April 28, is one way to take the time to reflect, act as an advocate, and help workers and their loved ones. This AFL-CIO fact sheet included the thought-provoking quotation below, along with some specific points that encourage action.

“This year we will come together to call for good jobs in this country for all workers. We will seek stronger safeguards to prevent injuries and save lives. We will stand for the right of all workers to raise job safety concerns without fear of retaliation, and for the freedom to form unions and speak out and bargain for respect and a better future.”

By reflecting on the risks that all workers take and acting to promote safety, we think Workers’ Memorial Day will be even more successful. And most importantly, all of our loved ones will have safer workplaces.

There are many resources to access to find out more about Workers’ Memorial Day events near you. Today’s blog post was written a couple of weeks in advance of the events so people can plan ahead to attend.

Here are some links, along with the specific information for Nebraska and Iowa:

Iowa

Nebraska has three separate events available to the public this year. 

  • USMWF’s 5K Family Fun Run/Walk Fundraiser
    Sunday, April 27, 1:30 p.m., Registration Starts
    Holmes Lake Park, Lincoln
    via http://www.usmwf.org/NE5KRUN.htm to sign up, learn about fees, and get more details about the event
  • Nebraska’s 3rd Annual Safety Expo
    Monday, April 28, 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
    IBEW Local 265 Union Hall, 6200 S. 14th St., Lincoln
    Via http://www.usmwf.org/NE5KRUN.htm
    The event is free, but space is limited, and registration is required by printing out or emailing this form http://www.usmwf.org/safety_expo_form.pdf As of April 9, there were still spaces available to attend.
  • 5th Annual Workers’ Memorial Day Candlelight Vigil
    Monday, Apr. 28, 7 p.m.
    Nebraska State Capitol, Lincoln
    via http://www.usmwf.org/NE5KRUN.htm This event is also free, and no registration is needed.
    According to the Lancaster County Democratic Party, via email in 2013, “representatives from State, Federal, United Support Memorial for Workplace Fatalities (USMWF), Unions, Co-workers, Employers and the community come together and honor the men and women that have been injured or killed in a preventable work related incident.”

Please see the websites below for more general details about Workers’ Memorial Day: http://www.workermemorialday.org/WMD2014.htm  

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Iowa, Nebraska, Workplace Safety and tagged , , , , , , , .

Harvest Time Reminds of Need for Grain Handling Safety

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The grain harvest is still going strong in many portions of the Great Plains, but farmers and agricultural workers may be at that point where they just want to get it done and take shortcuts. However, taking shortcuts can often lead to bigger safety problems for these ag workers.

Although folks who are in the field and transporting grain to elevators are much more visible right now, safety issues with grain elevators go on throughout the year. So for people who live or work around grain elevators, which would be pretty much everyone in many small Nebraska and Iowa towns, please be aware of the dangers that grain handling can present, including explosions from grain dust, falls, or suffocation, among many of the other hazards out there.

One of the area television stations, 10-11 Central Nebraska, recently featured a special report on “Nebraska Grain Industry Safety” titled “OSHA, Grain Industry, and Families Work to End Injuries and Deaths.” 

That effort got us thinking about compiling a list of links and previous blog posts that we have run in regards to both agriculture and also grain handling as resources.

Here are a couple of general links, and then below that are links to past blog posts from the firm that talk about either workers’ compensation for ag workers or grain-handling issues.

OSHA Safety and Health Topics: Grain Handling

Facebook Community: Grain Mill Accidents

OSHA Looks at Challenge of Nebraska Grain Elevators’ Safety

Learn & Live: Grain industry hazards lead to deaths, injuries each year; US Labor Department’s OSHA working with Nebraska grain associations to promote awareness of grain industry hazards

Employer Pleads Guilty for Grain Elevator Death

Temporary Employees Cannot Be Excluded From Workers’ Compensation

The 11 Most Life-Threatening Jobs on the Planet

What Nebraskans In Farming Industries Should Know About Workers’ Comp

Please continue to be safe this harvest and avoid dangerous shortcuts! Because all loved ones deserve to have their workers come home to them.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Nebraska, Workplace Safety and tagged , , .

Why Tylenol Isn’t Always as Safe as People Think

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Acetaminophen, known to most of us as Tylenol, is one of the most commonly used drugs for pain. The vast majority of our injured clients take this drug at one stage or another of their treatment and recovery. A recently published investigative report from ProPublica explores just how dangerous this drug is. Everyone who uses this drug would benefit from reading this report

Tylenol is an extremely common drug, but it can be more dangerous than you think, so please both read carefully and follow the directions on the bottle, especially if you’re giving it to a baby or child or if you’re an adult who drinks alcohol, even occasionally. 

The article is lengthy and disturbing because it talks about the makers of Tylenol minimizing the deaths and liver damage of people who took the product. However, ProPublica has done a comprehensive job of including a lot of information and several graphics caught my eye, including “How the Liver Processes Acetaminophen” and “How Much Acetaminophen Are You Taking?”  

The report’s “Major Takeaways” are below, and I hope they make you want to read more of the report. I would urge you to be sure with any drug, even over-the-counter ones, to always read the label, follow the directions, and ask a doctor or pharmacist if you have questions.

Major Takeaways (excerpt from the report)

1 About 150 Americans die a year by accidentally taking too much acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, federal data from the CDC shows.

2 Acetaminophen has a narrow safety margin: the dose that helps is close to the dose that can cause serious harm, according to the FDA.

3 The FDA has long been aware of studies showing the risks of acetaminophen. So has the maker of Tylenol, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a division of Johnson & Johnson.

4 Over more than 30 years, the FDA has delayed or failed to adopt measures designed to reduce deaths and injuries from acetaminophen. The agency began a comprehensive review to set safety rules for acetaminophen in the 1970s, but still has not finished.

5 McNeil, the maker of Tylenol, has taken steps to protect consumers. But over more than three decades, the company has repeatedly opposed safety warnings, dosage restrictions and other measures meant to safeguard users of the drug.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Death, Health and tagged , , , , .

When It’s Time to Take the Keys Away from Parents

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Growing old is a contact sport that is not recommended for the frail. Telling elderly parents that they no longer can drive may keep them and others safer, but almost always takes away both independence and control. So it’s a tough subject, even if there’s already been one or more minor car accidents involving a parent’s driving.

One of the common themes in many of these articles is to actually ride with your parents and notice if they have physical limitations or are slow to react to situations around them, keeping in mind that cues are usually more subtle than blatantly running a red light, although that may be one clue. Another theme is examining action tactics to figure out who actually approaches the person for the conversation and takes away the keys – suggestions include talking to both the doctor and a supervisor at the DMV to enlist them as allies.

There is an abundance of commentary on this subject to help you (and others who might need to) stage an intervention with your parents. Links below includes advice and tips about both discerning whether it’s time to have the conversation and more details about discussing no more driving and the potential aftermath.

  • Here is one website with a comprehensive list of resource articles and links to answer many questions folks might have about this scenario:

    Aging Parents Driving: Answer the common question ‘How can I tell if my elderly parent should no longer be driving?’ Learn how to take the keys away from an aging mother or father. Find out how to deal with stubborn aging parents who think their driving is safe. Know the common signs that your parent should no longer be driving and where to turn for assistance.”

  • This next article has a checklist that helps determine whether it’s really unsafe for a parent to drive. And I think it also had some good advice from an official at the AARP: “We use the term ‘Prepare with your head and talk with your heart.’”
  • Here’s an article that is a much lighter look at the serious subject at hand.
  • I thought that this next article was useful because Nebraska and Iowa, like California – where the author lives – have a lack of public transportation infrastructure, which is an even bigger problem in rural areas. As the story says, “It can be a tough thing to tell a parent. First, do some research. Second, choose your words carefully.”
  • This article uses checklists to explore the process of approaching a parent for this conversation. It also encourages empathy and challenges folks to consider what it would be like if they had to stop driving for even a short period of time and how their lives would be affected.
  • As a different approach, there are also support threads and websites out there that address an extremely large number of scenarios that come up with elderly parents, including the dilemma of taking away the keys. Here’s an example of one board with questions and answers that I thought was both respectful to the parents and also encouraged advocating for safety, even if that meant taking away the keys.

For further thought, even after having this particular conversation with your parents, keep in mind that someday someone will be having the conversation with you. Think about and reflect if you’d be ready – will you be receptive to a loved one’s concerns?

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

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Workers’ Memorial Day Provides Time to Reflect, Act

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It seems like we spend a lot of time encouraging readers to reflect by thinking about their lives and the lives of others who are less fortunate. We also encourage folks to advocate for workers’ rights and safety. And yes, this encouragement does sometimes come at the expense of business profits.

One way to reflect, act and help workers is by observing Workers’ Memorial Day on Sunday, Apr. 28.

“Each and every day in this country, on average 13 workers die on the job as a result of workplace injuries – women and men who go to work, never to return home to their families and loved ones,” according to the AFL-CIO.

It seems especially bittersweet to us that the number of workers killed for one day of the year on average is so close to the number of workers killed at the West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion. Although it seems the media is much more focused on other news, there is a strong grassroots effort to continue the coverage of the fertilizer plant explosion in Texas, especially to figure out what caused it.

By reflecting on the risks that all workers take and acting to promote safety, Workers’ Memorial Day will be even more successful. And most importantly, all of our loved ones will have safer workplaces.

There are many resources to access to find out more about Workers’ Memorial Day events near you. Here are some links, along with the specific information for Nebraska and Iowa:

  • Iowa
    Workers’ Memorial Day Ceremony
    Friday, Apr. 26, 11 a.m.
    Iowa Workforce Development, Des Moines
    via http://www.iowaworkforce.org/labor/
  • Nebraska
    4th Annual Workers’ Memorial Day
    Sunday, Apr. 28, 7 p.m.
    Nebraska State Capitol North Steps, Lincoln

According to the Lancaster County Democratic Party, via email, “representatives from State, Federal, United Support Memorial for Workplace Fatalities (USMWF), Unions, Co-workers, Employers and the community come together and honor the men and women that have been injured or killed in a preventable work related incident.”

Please see the website below for more details: http://www.workermemorialday.org/WMD2013.htm

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Workplace Safety and tagged , , , , .

Texas Stories: Symptom of Bigger Workers’ Comp Debates

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We have been listening with interest to a recent National Public Radio (NPR) series about construction workers and businesses in Texas. The series about this industry confronts many of the issues that are being debated by society these days, whether in the judicial, executive or legislative branches.

To add some context, these topics include employing immigrant workers; paying a living wage; calling an employee an independent contractor; and ensuring workplace safety, workers’ compensation, and payroll taxes are all done, practices that specifically are not happening in Texas, according to the stories. A notable quote from the first piece is “Texas is the only state in the nation without mandatory workers’ compensation, meaning hospitals and taxpayers usually end up shouldering the cost when uncovered construction workers are hurt.” And we think the information from the second piece is quite telling that the business owner “asked that NPR not use his last name because the IRS might take an interest in his business, designs and builds landscapes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.” Because he treats his crew as “self-employed contractors,” meaning that the IRS would likely see his interpretations of tax law as illegal. From the story: “This is a key distinction. If Trent were to classify his workers as employees, he’d have to pay taxes, Social Security, unemployment and overtime. But by saying his workers are actually independent contractors – in essence, business owners – he’s off the hook.”

We think listening to these two pieces, at less than 15 minutes total, is a good opportunity to experience an applied illustration of what happens to the vulnerable when such protections as workers’ compensation are effectively dismantled for profit-taking and political reasons. Respected colleague Jon Gelman in New Jersey recently wrote a blog post that focuses on the first NPR report and “how bad it is for workers who get injured in Texas.”

Although things are allegedly always more extreme in Texas, attacks on the vulnerable aren’t limited to that state, unfortunately. Ms. Cathy Stanton, president of the Workers’ Injury Law and Advocacy Group (WILG), and a respected colleague from Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano in New York, recently wrote an extremely useful article about “Emerging Trends in Legislative Attacks on Injured & Ill Workers.”

In Nebraska, the anti-worker, pro-business Nebraskans for Workers’ Compensation Equity and Fairness group is backing LB 584 that would dramatically limit protections that workers have when it comes to being injured through a concept called evidence-based medicine/utilization review. In addition to our firm writing numerous blog posts about this legislation, EBM/UR is #8 in Ms. Stanton’s list of “trends throughout the country which would negatively impact existing Workers’ Compensation benefits.” And according to this article, politicians in Tennessee are looking to gain some brownie points with business and insurance by overhauling the workers’ compensation courts to the detriment of injured workers. Iowa workers and attorneys have to contend with #6 on the list, restricting doctor choice, while a bill in Nebraska’s legislature is in the works to do the same if passed.

We agree with what Ms. Stanton writes: “All workers need to be aware of these trends because the likelihood of legislation being introduced in their state against their interests is strong. Employee immunity has remained untouched, but workers’ benefits are consistently under attack as a result of the collective lobbying efforts of the insurance industry and large corporations.   Unfortunately the great compromise is turning out to be one sided as workers are forced to endure multiple obstacles and hurdles to be entitled to fewer and more restricted benefits.”

So we would encourage you to join us in educating yourselves about how workers’ compensation “reform” can lead to stories like NPR’s cautionary tales about the construction industry in Texas and to explore what’s going on in your state legislature. Finally, get involved in your state’s political process to advocate for workers!

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in fighting fraud, Workers' Compensation and tagged , , , , , , , , .