Call Us 919-240-4054The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled last Tuesday that an injured worker and his employer cannot independently agree on a settlement if the North Carolina Industrial Commission has gotten involved in the claim, according to the Triangle Business Journal. Danny Allred was injured in a motor vehicle accident while he was employee of Exceptional […]
In the News
National Voter Registration Act turns 20!
This week we celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), passed by Congress in 1993 with the intent of making voting accessible and free to all Americans. In essence, the NVRA protects and preserves the most basic element of democracy. States are required to offer voter registration to anyone applying for […]
Whistleblowers denied protection in NC Court of Appeals
Three former Forsyth County Board of Election employees who alleged they were treated unfairly for blowing the whistle on their supervisor were denied the right to sue under the North Carolina Whistleblowers Protection Act (WPA). The North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of claims brought by Pamela Johnson, Deena Head and Terry Cox […]
Vets continue to face long waits for caregiver reimbursement
Veterans, their spouses and their caregivers continue to get the cold shoulder from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the New York Times blog The New Old Age reports. The blog publicized the little-known Aid and Attendance pension benefit program (known as the A&A) last fall, arguing that the program is so poorly publicized far […]
Greensboro man who left work to serve in reserves can’t sue to keep his job under USERRA
A man who left his city job to serve his country is not entitled to sue under the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), according to a ruling by the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Oakley Dean Baldwin, a municipal waste manager who served as a chief warrant officer […]
Johnson & Groninger Celebrates Law Day
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere.” So wrote the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King from his cell in a Birmingham, Alabama jail in 1963. Dr. King’s words as well as his dream of equality for all Americans, is at the heart of the American Bar Association’s annual Law Day celebration. Law Day is […]
False Claims Act in the news, led to $3 billion in healthcare fraud judgments and settlements in 2012
Over the last several months, U.S. courts have seen significant activity involving the False Claims Act (FCA), a federal law amended in 1986 to allow individual citizens to sue companies for money damages if they have evidence that the companies have defrauded the taxpayers. If an FCA case is successful, the person who brings it […]
Workers’ comp roundtable helps attorneys better help their clients
Johnson & Groninger partner Valerie Johnson organized a roundtable discussion of issues regarding North Carolina Workers’ Compensation on April 12, 2013. The 18th Annual Workers’ Comp Roundtable was held in Raleigh at the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ) headquarters on April 12 and was co-led by attorney J. Griffin Morgan of Elliot, Pishko, Morgan, […]
OSHA faulted for allowing North Carolina manufacturing workers to get occupational disease
The New York Times today published an article that exposes the hazards faced by workers in North Carolina and other states who are exposed to the chemical n-propyl bromide, or nPB. The chemical is used by workers in our state who glue together foam cushions for chairs and couches in the furniture industry. The workers in […]
Investigation shows preventable deaths in grain industry, OSHA oversight weak
National Public Radio and The Center for Public Integrity have been reporting this week on the results of an investigation into needless deaths from suffocation in grain storage bins. Nearly 500 farmers and workers have died in these bins in the last 40 years. The worst year on record was just recently, in 2010. The story is […]
