The report examines the role of industry and the government during the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects on workers including illness, deaths, and worker safety violations.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor issued a policy bulletin announcing changes by its Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs to assist federal firefighters with certain occupational illnesses by making it easier for claimants to file certain claims and improving transparency in how claims are processed.

The working world is an ever-evolving landscape.

While brick and mortar offices will likely never go away completely, working remotely or virtually are here now and coming on strong. During the pandemic, the remote workplace became much more the norm for many reasons. Just about any business you can think of (except maybe healthcare and food services) now have some version of remote working.

What has also evolved during the last several years is the virtual workspace - also known as the "metaverse."

Although the workers’ compensation system is no-fault, these claims are often hotly contested. Whether an insurance carrier contests compensability or denies treatment, litigation is often necessary to ensure that an injured worker gets the full benefits that they are entitled to under the law. But what happens if your client passes away before the claim is resolved?

The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act features no statutory presumption of causation for COVID-19.  Yet, infectious diseases, including COVID, were, and are, as a matter of legal causation, compensable under the law.

Podcast: The filmmaker behind the documentary ‘Radium Girls’ brings to life the inspiring and tragic tale of the teenage dial painters during WWI.

With widespread closures of schools and childcare centers, COVID-19 kicked away the scaffolding of care working families rely on to balance the demands of work and family. Mothers, in particular, have borne a heavy load.

Washington has recently adopted legislation (Substitute House Bill 2409 that established Revised Code of Washington 51.14.179) that will impose new licensing and other regulatory requirements on workers compensation Third Party Administrators (“TPAs”) that contract with one or more self-insured employers to handle their claims.  Specifically, effective July 1, 2021, all TPAs administering workers compensation business for self-insured employers must be licensed by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (“Washington DLI”). Per the Washington DLI, such self-insured employers have used TPAs for a long time in Washington, but this is the first time there will be a requirement to obtain a TPA license.

Return-to-work programs are only effective if they are implemented with the support of upper, middle and lower management.

On April 13, 2021, the New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court’s decision in Hager v. M&K Construction that required New Jersey employers to reimburse the cost of medical marijuana for injured workers.