Workers' Compensation Law Commons^™

Should Representation Elections Be Governed By Principles Or Expediency?, Mary Ellen Krug, Michele Gammer

Seattle University Law Review

Should the National Labor Relations Board' set aside representation elections because one or more parties has tried to influence the voting with misrepresentation of facts or law? Although the Board is responsible for ensuring fair elections, in Midland National Life Insurance Co. it embraced a rule inconsistent with this statutory responsibility, rejecting the Hollywood Ceramics Co. rule and narrowly limiting Board review of campaign misrepresentations. This Article examines the Midland standard in light of the Board's statutory duty to protect the right of employees to a free and fair choice of collective bargaining representatives. The Article reviews the historical development …

Recent Developments In Virginia Workers' Compensation And Other Employment Laws, Janice R. Moore

University of Richmond Law Review

This survey covers Virginia court decisions affecting the employment relation directly or indirectly, including the Virginia Supreme Court, the Virginia Court of Appeals, and published decisions of various circuit courts. Because this subject area has not been included in earlier surveys of Virginia law, this survey covers the years 1985 and 1986. During this time, Virginia courts have interpreted the rights and duties of employers and employees under the workers' compensation and unemployment compensation statutes; they have examined the remedies available under Virginia law for allegedly tortious conduct in the context of a labor dispute; they have reexamined the employment-at-will …

An Observation About Comparable Worth, George Schatzki

Seattle University Law Review

The ultimate legal question is: Does Title VII incorporate the comparable worth doctrine? The courts are saying, "No." Their reasoning is, at best, unpersuasive. Indeed, often their reasoning is nothing more than mere conclusion. Given what I have described briefly as the legal arguments pro and con, one can easily understand that so long as Griggs remains a part of the Title VII scene, there is a rational but not compelling argument to incorporate comparable worth into the Act. How, then, does a court decide? The following discussion is offered not as an example of desirable or undesirable judicial analysis. …

Workers' Compensation—Supervisory Employees Are Immune From Tort Actions, Hank Jackson

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Midgett V. Sackett-Chicago, Inc.: The Short-Sighted Use Of State Remedies To Protect Union Employees From Retaliatory Discharge, 18 J. Marshall L. Rev. 565 (1985), Benjamin P. Hyink, Lawrence M. Liebman

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Charting The Future Course For Corporate Management Of Health Risks, Michael S. Baram

Faculty Scholarship

Corporations engage in technological activities of benefit to society, but thereby also create new health risks for workers, consumers, and communities. Government regulatory agencies deal with this chronic problem by conducting risk analyses and imposing various duties on private firms. Despite agency efforts and corporate compliance, health risks continue to arise and take their toll. To what extent will private firms voluntarily assume greater responsibility for preventing these health risks? This question is of increasing social importance, because the limitations of regulatory efforts are now obvious, whereas health risks are now being identified at what appears to be an increasing …

Workers Compensation: The Historical Compromise Revisited, Dianne Pothier

Dianne Pothier Collection

This committee, after our study, declares that our present system of workers' compensation legislation is still fundamentally sound in concept.

- Report to the House of Assembly of the Select Committee on Workers' Compensation, May, 1981

In the last decade health and safety issues in the workplace have gained a special prominence. Across North America new initiatives have been taken in response to an old problem. One aspect subjected to re-evaluation in many jurisdictions is the statutory scheme of workers' compensation. In Nova Scotia a Select Committee of the Legislature was given the mandate to reassess this scheme, and its …

Glass V. Stahl Specialty Company: Reconciling Third Party's Contribution Rights With Employer's Immunity Under Workers' Compensation, Karin Nyrop

Seattle University Law Review

This note argues that the correct resolution of the tension between the employer’s immunity and the third party’s right of contribution requires balancing the interests of all parties. The employer has an interest in retaining the workers’ compensation law’s exclusive no-fault recovery system; the third party tortfeasor seeks to avoid shouldering the entire liability of another at-fault tortfeasor capable of contribution. At the same time, the employee has a right to full and speedy compensation, and the state has an interest in maintaining the financial stability of its accident fund. This note explores the policies and legal arguments supporting the …

Unemployment Compensation Benefits: Part Of A Balanced Package Of Relief For Sexual Harassment Victims, Meri Arnett-Kremian

University of Richmond Law Review

Although sexual harrassment was once a topic discussed so rarely as to be almost taboo, it now is subject to much analysis. Books and articles in magazines and professional journals have helped define the parameters of the problem, treating it both as a sociological phenomenon and as a legal issue. Articles discussing the legal aspects of sexual harassment tend to concentrate exclusively on the arsenal of litigation weapons available to a potential plaintiff, despite the fact that the vast majority of women who experience harassment will choose not to sue, and those who do will often wait years before they …

A Guide For Occupational Safety And Health For Legal Services And Community Law Offices, Carol Oppenheimer

Antioch Law Journal

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), passed in 1970, is intended to provide "every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions."' The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforces the Act; 2 the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) does research on workplace hazards and recommends practices and standards for industry. 3 By contrast with the state workers compensation schemes, the underlying purpose of the OSH Act is to prevent occupationally related injuries, disease and death, rather than to compensate the worker once the harm has occurred. The OSH Act, if …

In Wake Of Mandolidis: A Case Study Of Recent Trials Brought Under The Mandolidis Theory--Courts Are Grappling With Procedural Uncertainties And Juries Are Awarding Exorbitant Damages For Plaintiffs, David A. Mohler

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Workers' Compensation–Statute Of Limitations On Seeking Additional Benefits, Robert E. Mccallum

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Recovery For Accidental Injuries Under The Virginia Workmen's Compensation Act, Douglas E. Ray, R. Craig Evans, Jay H. Steele

University of Richmond Law Review

The Virginia Workmen's Compensation Act, first enacted in 1918, generally provides for case benefits and medical care to individuals injured in employment-related accidents. While the Act is neither tort law nor social insurance, it contains elements of both. As social legislation, the Act plays an important role in protecting citizens from loss of wages and provides an important supplement to protection available from the federal Old Age, Survivors' Disability and Health Insurance Program, unemployment compensation and private health and accident insurance plans. In 1979, more than 43,000 Virginia employees filed claims under the Act. Unlike other social insurance programs, however, …

Director, Office Of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department Of Labor V. Rasmussen, Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.

The Black Lung Benefits Reform And Revenue Acts Of 1977, John Rollins

West Virginia Law Review

On February 15, 1978, Congress enacted the Black Lung Benefits Reform Act of 1977. The passage of this legislation followed months of congressional indecision over just how the existing black lung benefits system could be reformed. During this period, the financing of the program appeared to be the most divisive issue. That issue was finally resolved by the enactment in late January of the Black Lung Benefits Revenue Act of 1977. After this hurdle was cleared, the conference committee report on the reform act easily passed both houses.' The Act, which amended the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act …

New York's Workmen's Compensation Law: Problems And Perspectives, Kenneth L. Gartner, Jeffrey A. Human, David W. Reitz, David Saleh, Philip John Szable

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Usery V. Turner Elkhorn Mining Company, Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.

Presumption Of Dependence In Workers' Compensation Death Benefits As A Denial Of Equal Protection, A. Russell Localio

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This note will examine the sex bias prevalent in many workers' compensation statutes and the constitutionality of these statutes in light of recent Supreme Court decisions on sex discrimination. After this examination, alternative methods for effecting reform of the sex-biased death benefit provisions will be analyzed.

Wage-Incentives And Work-Training Programs: Essential Tools For Rehabilitating Prison Inmates, Joseph L. Colp

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

Workmen's Compensation And Employer Suability: The Dual-Capacity Doctrine., Mary Quella Kelly

St. Mary's Law Journal

Most current workmen’s compensation schemes allow an employee to sue a third party who negligently caused their injury while still receiving workmen’s compensation benefits. It is logical, then, that when an employee is injured due to the employer’s negligence arising from a second capacity that creates obligations independent from those of an employer, the right to bring a common law action should not be denied. For instance, a doctor still owes his patients the duty of providing good medical care, regardless of whether that patient is an employee. However, the majority of courts continue to reject this “dual capacity” doctrine …

Unlawful In Texas To Waive Right To File A Claim In Return For Compensation., Preston L. Dodson

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Where An Employee Is Injured In A Case For Which Compensation Is Payable Under Circumstances Creating Liability In Some Party Other Than The Compensation Subscriber, The Employee Must Make An Election To Proceed Against The Third Party Or The Compensation Carrier Within Two Years From The Date Of The Accident., Myron E. East Jr.

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Workmen's Compensation At Sea, Charles D. Evens

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

At the present time there are three possible remedies available to seamen who are injured in the course of their employment. In order to maintain any of these actions, the injured party must of course qualify as a seaman. The traditional tests used to determine whether a maritime worker is a seaman are as follows: 1) the vessel must be in navigation, 2) the worker must have a more or less permanent connection with the vessel, and 3) the worker must be aboard the vessel primarily to aid in navigation. These standards have been somewhat modified by Offshore Company v. …

Workmen's Compensation--Encouraging Employment Of The Handicapped In Michigan: A Proposal For Revision Of The Michigan Second Injury Fund, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Employment of the handicapped is clearly a proper concern of the state. Unemployed, such a person is a burden on his family and on the state; welfare and relief payments to such a person needlessly increase costs to both the state and local governments supporting such programs. Employed, the handicapped person is a self-supporting, stable member of the community; he becomes a taxpayer rather than a tax consumer. There are also important moral and social considerations which may be simply summarized stating that no person who is able to work should be needlessly denied employment. In short, any continued waste …

Mental Stress And Mental Injury In New York Workmen's Compensation, Peter J. Brevorka

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Workmen's Compensation For Suicide After Traumatic Injury, Paul Mitrovich

Cleveland State Law Review

Since the institution of the Workmen's Compensation Acts, courts have recognized that in some instances compensation statutes cover suicide. However, these situations are few, and must meet a rigid set of tests before a court will award compensation to the decedent's family or survivors.

Horseplay By Employees, Michael Kaye

Cleveland State Law Review

The trend of authority is strongly in favor of eliminating the aggressor defense from Workmen's Compensation law. The instigator, like the victim or participant in horseplay, is now likely to be compensated for his injuries resulting from sportive acts. This is looked on by the law as a reasonable consequence of the natural conditions of employment rather than as a deviation. "Horseplay" is the colloquial term referring to sportive and playful acts often used legalistically to describe the conduct of employees who skylark or prank, doing injury to themselves or to others. Sportive conduct includes assaults with or without an …

Covered Employment And Compensable Injury Concepts In Tennessee, Robert N. Covington

Vanderbilt Law Review

This article surveys the existing law of Tennessee applicable to the problems of determining what is covered employment and what constitutes a compensable injury. The survey indicates no radical differences between the law of Tennessee and that of most American jurisdictions,although there are a few troublesome problems in particular areas, such as the "Act of God" and "positional risk" cases.

Advocating The Rights Of The Injured, Benjamin Marcus

Michigan Law Review

When workmen's compensation was first introduced a half century ago, it was felt necessary to cushion the shock in a number of ways. One of these was the idea of a bargain, an exchange, in which the worker, to obtain the new remedy based on liability without fault, gave up his existing remedy, the right to a tort action against his employer for a negligent injury. It is time that the terms of that bargain be re-examined.

Workmen's Compensation -- 1961 Tennessee Survey (Ii), J. Gilmer Bowman, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

Since the workmen's compensation statute was designed to provide benefits for an employee's work-connected injury or death, it necessarily follows that there must have been an employment relationship within the coverage of the statute and that the person or persons claiming the benefits must be within the class entitled to do so. The application of this basic premise, which on its face appears simple enough, was involved in three cases before the Tennessee Supreme Court during the survey period.

Bowling v. Whitley was a workmen's compensation suit brought by an employee against his immediate employer, a subcontractor, as well as …