A Capehart Scatchard Blog

Archive for October, 2016

CMS May Soon Adopt New And More Strict Guidelines On Approving Zero Allocation Medicare Set Asides

By on October 31, 2016 in Medicare, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

A number of prominent Medicare experts disseminated Legal Alerts last week to the effect that changes may be occurring with respect to the requirements for CMS to approve zero allocations.  These changes would spell bad news in New Jersey for employers who want to settle disputed cases on a Section 20 basis.  According to Martin […]

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Director Wojtenko Issues Memo to All Attorneys on Strict Compliance with the Rules on Motions for Medical and Temporary Disability Benefits

By on October 27, 2016 in NJ Workers' Comp, Policy with 0 Comments

The Honorable Russell Wojtenko, Jr., Director and Chief Judge, issued a Memo effective October 21, 2016 to all workers’ compensation attorneys advising that the administrative rules on motions for medical and temporary disability benefits will be strictly enforced.  What this means to employers, carriers, third party administrators and practitioners is that motions for medical and […]

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Partial Responsibility for Parking Lot by Employer Results in Compensable Claim

By on October 26, 2016 in Compensability, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

In Giordano v. High Point Insurance Company, No. A-4971-14T3 (App. Div. October 11, 2016), Michelle Giordano, an employee of High Point Insurance Company, was injured in a parking lot adjacent to a multi-tenant office building.  After parking in the lot, she fell on twigs and debris, injuring her right shoulder.  Her employer denied the claim based […]

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Lyme Disease Qualifies As A Disability Under The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination

By on October 19, 2016 in ADA, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

In Cook v. Gregory Press, Inc., 2016 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1885 (App. Div. August 11, 2016), the Appellate Division reversed a trial court’s dismissal of a plaintiff’s disability discrimination case involving an employee eventually diagnosed with Lyme disease.  The case involved Matthew Cook, who worked as a printing machine operator since 2002.  In 2011, […]

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The Evolution of the Reconstructed Wage Rule in New Jersey

By on October 12, 2016 in Awards, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

What is a reconstructed work week and wage and why does it matter?  Originally, this referred to a principle by which certain injured employees can seek recalculation of their work week, thereby increasing their wage and permanency rate at the time of settlement.  For example, an employee works 20 hours per week earning $20 per […]

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OSHA Attacks Employer Post-Accident Drug Testing Policies

Many employers have a policy of mandatory post-injury drug testing.  Those policies must now be reconsidered and largely jettisoned. The underpinning of the new OSHA policy on drug testing is the belief that blanket post-injury drug testing policies deter proper reporting of injuries.  On May 12, 2016 OSHA published new final rules against discrimination and […]

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