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 […]
Case Commentary
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, […]
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. § […]
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 […]
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 […]