Call Us 919-240-4054Last week, the Senate finally passed the $26 billion package to aid states that are still reeling from the effects of the recession. The legislation provides $10 billion to retain teachers who might otherwise lose jobs to cutbacks, and an additional $16 billion to help states with rising health care costs. The bill was quickly passed […]
Law Blog
Judge Wynn confirmed to Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
Judge Jim Wynn was finally confirmed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals last week. Judge Wynn was first nominated for the court in 1999. His confirmation comes after months of being held up in the Senate by Republican obstruction after President Obama re-nominated him last year. (Republicans, however, are still holding up the confirmation of […]
NY Times looks again at the burden on working parents
Prompted by a stark pattern on the U.S. Supreme Court, David Leonhardt of the New York Times addresses the continuing burdens on working parents that still mostly fall on women. Because employers do not make reasonable accommodations for parental leave, parents who take time off often suffer long-term drops in pay and position, or stop […]
NC Court of Appeals on workers’ compensation for parking lot injuries
The latest workers’ compensation opinion from the North Carolina Court of Appeals, Cardwell v. Jenkins Cleaner, addresses the “going and coming” rule. “As a general rule, injuries occurring while an employee travels to and from work do not arise in the course of employment and thus are not compensable.” This “going and coming” rule has further evolved […]
NC Court of Appeals July 20, 2010 decisions on workers’ compensation — part 2
The third workers’ compensation decision that the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued last week was Reaves v. Industrial Pump Service, a case that had already been to the Court last year. Under the Pickrell presumption, “When an employee is found dead under circumstances indicating that death took place within the time and space limits of […]
NC Court of Appeals July 20, 2010 decisions on workers’ compensation — part 1
On July 20, 2010, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued four published opinions regarding workers’ compensation. The first decision, Morales-Rodriguez v. Carolina Quality Exteriors, Inc., concerned whether the plaintiff was an employee or an independent contractor of the defendant. The plaintiff sought benefits for injuries sustained when he fell from a building at Nags Head, […]
Unemployment extension finally passed over Republican filibuster
Senate Democrats, with the help of only two Republicans, were finally available to break the deadlock over the extension of unemployment benefits. President Obama signed the bill this past Thursday. This bill provides a continuation of the program of extended benefits for those who exhaust the standard 26 weeks of unemployment benefits. Read more here. Although this bill […]
NC Court of Appeals’ latest workers’ compensation decisions
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has issued two workers’ compensation cases of note in its latest batch of decisions. The first, Woodliff v. Fitzpatrick, concerned whether the plaintiff’s employer had three or more employees. An employer is subject to the Workers’ Compensation Act only if it “regularly employs” three or more employees. See N.C. Gen. Stat. § […]
DOL expands FMLA to cover non-traditional families
The federal Department of Labor issued some important guidance regarding the coverage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as it applies to all sorts of unconventional families. The DOL made clear that FMLA rights to get time off to care for children do not require a biological relationship with the child. Rather, anyone […]
Supreme Court rules on arbitration issues for unions and employees in two cases
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two decisions concerning whether particular issues had to be decided by an arbitrator or in federal court. One care arose in the traditional area of labor arbitration between companies and unions; the second arose in the ever-growing area of employer-imposed arbitration agreements on regular employees. In the first, Granite […]