June 15, 2015 No. 13SC394, Coats v. Dish Network In a highly anticipated decision, the Supreme Court of Colorado unanimously held this week that an employer may justifiably terminate an employee for his off-duty conduct, despite the employee’s adherence to...
Karen C. Yotis, Esq., a Feature Resident Columnist for the LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation eNewsletter , provides insights into workplace issues and the nuts and bolts of the workers’ comp world. How risky would it be if your mailroom employees used...
A truck driver’s contract of employment was not made in North Carolina where he was required to complete a three-day orientation, a road test, a drug test, and a physical exam in Mississippi—a hiring procedure that extended well beyond mostly administrative...
Unless an employee’s drug use was the proximate cause of his work-connected injury, he was entitled to workers’ compensation benefits in spite of his violation of a workplace rule by having marijuana metabolites in his system at the workplace [see Ohio Rev. Code...
The Commission affirmed a denial of an anti-drug policy defense to a permanent total claimant who appeared to have used cocaine shortly before the accident. Hertzing v Beck Motors , 2015 Mo WCLR Lexis 2 (lexis.com), 2015 Mo WCLR Lexis 2 (Lexis Advance) (January...
The employer failed to show it required a drug test after a work accident and now owes for ongoing temporary benefits because the worker states his severe chronic back pain is worse since his accident. King v American Employment Group , 2014 Mo WCLR Lexis 143 ...
Two new studies published by Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) show that on average three out of four injured workers in the United States receive opioid prescriptions for pain relief following workplace injuries and that generally, even when...
A Texas appellate court affirmed summary judgment in favor of a former employer in a retaliatory discharge case filed against it by a worker who was terminated when he refused to take a drug test following a collision between the worker’s truck and another...
The proverbial sky could fall soon for drug testing and drug policies Since 1970, marijuana has been listed as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act, making the possession and usage of marijuana illegal under federal law. Employers...
As is the case in a number of other jurisdictions, if an Arkansas worker tests positive for, among other things, marijuana metabolites, following a work-related injury, the employer enjoys a rebuttable presumption that the injury or accident was “substantially...
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a federal district court’s summary judgment in favor of a former employer was appropriate in a discharged employee’s retaliatory discharge action, arising from the latter’s refusal to take...
Here’s the first batch of advanced postings for the January 2014 issue of Cal. Comp. Cases. Lexis.com and Lexis Advance subscribers can link to the case to read the complete headnotes and summaries . © Copyright 2014 LexisNexis. All rights reserved...
It’s time to look back on the past year’s top cases to help us identify possible national trends. While many of these cases are state decisions, there are far reaching implications to be found in each of them. Here’s our selection for the top...