Circuit Court Holds Employer Does Not Have to Accomodate Employee’s Commuting Issues
Alisha Regan worked for Faurecia Automotive Seating, Inc., as a prototype seat builder. At the time she began with the company, she lived 24 miles from the plant. She and her husband then moved to a new home 79 miles from the plant. Her commute might take two hours or longer. Regan had been diagnosed […]
Employee Who Was Going to College While on FMLA Leave Was Properly Terminated
Plaintiff worked as a supervisor for Comcast’s Retention Department. She worked Monday through Friday. In July 2010 she requested time off on Tuesdays and Thursdays to take care of her child, who suffered from asthma. The request was initially denied, so plaintiff used flex time or vacation time on Tuesdays and Thursdays until she ran […]
City Properly Terminated Employee with Severe Restrictions in Connection with Return to Work
Workers’ compensation cases sometimes lead to ADA litigation when an injured worker contends that he or she can return to work with serious restrictions, but the employer maintains it has no job available within these restrictions. That was the dynamic in Otto v. City of Victoria, 685 F.3d 755 (8th Cir. 2012). Leland Otto was injured […]
An Individual Supervisor at a Public Agency May be Held Personally Liable Under the FMLA
A recent case in the Third Circuit (including New Jersey) has addressed individual liability of supervisors of public agencies. In Haybarger v. Lawrence County Adult Probation and Parole, 667 F.3d 408 (3d. Cir. 2012), the plaintiff, Debra Haybarger, worked as an office manager for the Lawrence County Probation and Parole Agency. Haybarger alleged that […]
House Cleaner Injured on First Day of Work Was an Independent Contractor Not Covered Under Comp
Luz Lukasik agreed to provide house cleaning services for Marguerite Hollaway and two others. Respondents contacted Lukasik after hearing about her from an acquaintance. At that time she was cleaning five or six other houses and one office building on a regular basis. Petitioner Lukasik and her daughter went to the home of respondents and […]
Third Circuit Holds That Employer Can Terminate Employee on FMLA for Violation of Paid Sick Leave Policy by Traveling Far From Home During Leave Without Permission
Someone who is on FMLA is still subject to other leave policies like call-in policies and paid sick leave policies prohibiting distant travel The case of Denise Pellegrino v. Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 7902 (3d. Circuit 2012) offers important guidance for employers who struggle to deal with the FMLA in […]
New Jersey Supreme Court Rules That Injured Employee May Not Sue Workers’ Comp Carrier for Pain and Suffering Caused Allegedly by Carrier’s Delay in Paying for Medical Services
On August 1, 2012, the New Jersey Supreme Court weighed in on an issue that has important implications for all practitioners of workers’ compensation in this state. The decision in Stancil v. ACE USA A-112-10, 06764 concerned a civil law suit stemming from the handling of a compensable work accident that occurred on May 14, […]
Accident Crossing Busy Street To Work Site Is Compensable Where County Paid For Parking And Designated Parking Spot
In Hersh v. County of Morris, A-1442-10T4 (App. Div. July 24, 2012), the Appellate Division affirmed an award for claimant,Cheryl Hersh, who worked for Morris County. For the first two years she worked for the County beginning in 2002, the County paid for parking at a private lot located behind her work site at the […]
Court Holds Employer Must Pay Total Disability for Complex Groin Injury Without Second Injury Fund and Could Not Offer Surveillance Tapes Done Post-Testimony
In the case of Marra v. Ryder Transportation Resources, A-5724-10T4 (App. Div. July 2, 2012), the Appellate Division affirmed a holding that the employer was solely responsible for total disability stemming from a groin injury that occurred 15 years ago. The petitioner, Gerard Marra, originally injured himself at work lifting a loading gate. On January […]
Town Wins Workers’ Comp Case by Proving Employee Engaged in Fraud in not Revealing Prior Medical Condition
The Judge of Compensation and Appellate Division found that the employee was entitled to no benefits based on his violation of the New Jersey Fraud Act In Johnnie Jackson v. Township of Montclair, A-2212-11T2 (App. Div. July 5, 2012), the claimant injured his knee while moving large boxes of books at the Montclair Public Library on […]
Appelate Division Disapproves Dual Capacity Doctrine
Danielle Fry worked as a cook for Palroll Inc., trading as the Lakeside Tavern in Branchville, N.J. Palroll operated the tavern and also owned the building in which it was located. The owners of Palroll were the Rohls. On April 13, an employee of a bottling company delivered fifteen canisters of soda and one CO2 […]
New Jersey Supreme Court Nearly Bars the Door to Claims for Inentional Harm
In Van Dunk v. Reckson Associates Realty Corporation, (A-69-10) (066949), the Supreme Court of New Jersey on June 26, 2012 reversed an appellate division decision that had promised to breathe life into suits against employers for intentional harm. Reckson Associates Realty Corporation and Reckson Construction contracted with James Construction Company to build a retention pond […]
Court Rejects Occupational Stress Claim
Employee could not prove objectively verified stressful conditions New Jersey has a sensible occupational stress standard, namely that the person claiming work stress as a cause for psychiatric illness must prove objectively that the work conditions were stressful. Since all employees experience some degree of stress, this standard is not very easily met. In Knight […]
No Legal Malpractice Where Plaintiff Did Not See Comp Attorney Until Two Years After She Knew of Her Stress Condition and Relationship to Work
New Jersey has a statute of limitations for both traumatic and occupational disease claims. In Millar v. Darren J. Del Sardo, Esq. A-4388-10T1 (App. Div. April 27, 2012), both statutes of limitations came into play. Plaintiff Cynthia Millar began working for Cablevision in 1997 as an account executive. She began treating with a psychologist for […]
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Holds That Plaintiff Failed to Adequately Explain How He Receives SSD Benefits and Can Still Be Able to Work
EEOC could not explain how employee could claim ability to work with accommodation while getting SSDI payments. Michael Turner worked for Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) as a unit secretary since 1984. In 2005, Turner was hospitalized for necrotizing fasciitis, which is a life-threatening condition. He later suffered a stroke during the same year. Turner also […]
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