Insurance

N.C. workers’ compensation may cover injury-related depression

08/22/2008

Employees who are hurt on the job sometimes become depressed because they can’t do the things they previously could. That depression may then complicate their recovery or even prevent them from getting better. The practical result is that employers and their workers’ compensation carriers will have to pay lost wages longer …

Former N.C. health plan official says firing was unjust

08/22/2008

George Stokes, former chief executive of North Carolina’s state employee health insurance plan, claims he was unlawfully fired and that lawmakers spread inaccurate information while ousting him …

Stubble trouble: Can you fire unshaven employees?

08/21/2008

Do any of your employees look like they’ve just crawled out of a suitcase? A court recently addressed this question: If an employee is fired for ignoring his boss’s demands to get a shave, does that count as “misconduct” that disqualifies him from unemployment benefits? …

Workers’ comp for off-Site accidents during breaks?

08/21/2008

Q. Some of our employees leave the premises during their 10-minute breaks during the day. If they get into accidents, is the company at risk? — G.F., Colorado …

5 Steps for Communicating Benefits Changes

08/19/2008

As your organization shifts more responsibility to employees to manage their own health and retirement expenses, you risk alienating your work force. But it doesn’t have to be that way …

Document all efforts to accommodate disabled workers

08/15/2008

Employees who claim they suffered emotional distress because of illegal disability discrimination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act don’t have to rely solely on the workers’ compensation system to adjudicate their claims. They can go to court instead, suing for negligent infliction of emotional distress under state common law …

Can severance agreement rule out seeking unemployment comp?

08/12/2008

Q. In exchange for severance benefits, we would like a departing employee to promise not to file a claim for unemployment compensation. Can this be a term of our severance agreement? …

Workers’ comp may cover injury that occurs on vacation

08/11/2008

If you require certain employees to stay in good physical shape and pass regular fitness tests, a recent court ruling raises this key question: Could your organization be on the hook for workers’ compensation bneefits if the employee gets hurt while working out during a vacation?

Court addresses workers’ comp physician conflict of interest

08/05/2008

In a case that could have complicated workers’ compensation cases in Colorado, the Court of Appeals of Colorado has decided to allow physicians to do limited work for insurance carriers while still performing independent medical examinations on employees whose employers are insured by the same carrier …

New bill gives unemployed Texans 13 more weeks of benefits

08/04/2008

The Texas Workforce Commission recently announced that federally funded unemployment insurance (UI) benefits will be extended for 13 weeks. On June 30, President Bush signed legislation authorizing Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation …