Call Us 919-240-4054The 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 […]
In the News
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 […]
NC Court of Appeals upholds jury verdict for employee to collect earned bonuses
Earlier this month, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued Kornegay v. Aspen Asset Group LLC, an interesting case that raises and decides some key issues under the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act (NCWHA). At issue was whether the employee-plaintiff had a contract that included bonus payments, and if so, whether those had to be […]
Government enforcing child labor and wage laws for farmworkers in North Carolina
The New York Times has this article about the Obama Administration’s effort to enforce the child labor and wage and hour laws on farms, and describes the effort in North Carolina in particular. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) contains several exceptions for farmworkers, but sometimes-ignored restrictions of child labor are apparently now being more vigorously […]
Republicans continue to hold up unemployment extension in Senate
In a vote Thursday night, Senate Democrats were unable to overcome the Republic filibuster of the bill that contains the much-needed extension of unemployment benefits. Even though the cost of the bill had been reduced to alleviate the (misguided) concerns of increasing the federal deficit, all Republicans and two Democrats maintained their opposition. This bill would not […]
Supreme Court rules on workplace privacy and two-member labor board
Two labor and employment decisions were released by the U.S. Supreme Court this past week. In the first, City of Ontario v. Quon, the Court unanimously held (with Scalia concurring separately) that the government employer’s search of employee text messages was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Unlike private employers, public employers are constrained (somewhat) by […]
