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Vol. 5, Issue 31

Find Solutions & Strategies                                    August 4, 2014

Waiting to Exhale: Employee Firing for Off-Duty Medical Marijuana Use
In This Issue
-MEDICAL MARIJUANA
-DRUGS IN WORKPLACE
-LARSON'S SPOTLIGHT: Traveling Employee, Same-Sex Partner, Telecommuter, Preexisting Condition
-HEARING LOSS, UNDOCUMENTED WORKER, LHWCA SETTLEMENTS
-NATIONAL & STATE NEWS
-eNEWSLETTER ARCHIVES
A Note From the Editor
Robin Kobayashi 2010Join our community today. Sign up here for our free eNewsletter.

 

Robin E. Kobayashi, JD
LexisNexis Legal & Professional Operations

Get firsthand insights from respected attorneys including Brad Bleakney, Lex K. Larson, Richard Lenkov, Jennifer C. Jordan, Thomas A. Robinson and many more at the National Workers' Compensation & Disability Conference. Plus, you'll earn CLEs just by attending.

 

Best of all, you get a special discount: $325.00 off the standard rate. You attend NWCDC for only $995 by registering with Promo Code LNL by Nov. 3.

waiting to exhale: employee firing for off-duty medical marijuana use

How will the Colorado Supreme Court decide Coats v. Dish Network?

 

By Roger Rabb, J.D.

 

In a case being closely watched nationwide, the Colorado Supreme Court will address for the first time an important issue for employers and employees in the state: whether an employer may terminate an employee for the off-duty use of medical marijuana. Oral argument in Coats v. Dish Network is scheduled for September 30, 2014. Plaintiff Brandon Coats, a quadriplegic who worked for three years as a telephone customer service representative with Dish Network, is registered in Colorado as a medical marijuana user under the Medical Marijuana Amendment to the Colorado Constitution, Art. XVIII, Sec. 14...read more.

Date: Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Time:  2:00-3:35 p.m. ET

Duration:  95 minutes  

Earn: 1.5 CLE Credits

    

Register here for this complimentary CLE webinar

 

 

Dale L. Deitchler, Shareholder, Littler Mendelson P.C.

Angelo Cifaldi, Shareholder, Wilentz, Goldman and Spitzer, P.A.

Renee Maxwell, SPHR, Director, Human Resources, Hansgrohe North America

 

Also, please join us afterwards for a live discussion on LexTalk. Be sure to register in advance at LexTalk (registration is free). Mark Walls, VP, Safety National, will be a co-moderator.

LARSON'S SPOTLIGHT ON RECENT CASES

Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., our Feature National Columnist, is a leading commentator and expert on the law of workers' compensation.

 

Tom Robinson thumbnail

North Carolina: Injuries Sustained Returning From Holiday Party Not Compensable. The Court of Appeals of North Carolina has denied benefits to two technical support analysts in the State Highway Patrol who sustained severe injuries in an automobile accident...read more.

 

Alaska: Death Benefits Must Be Made Available to Deceased Employee's Same-Sex Partner in Spite of Alaska's Marriage Amendment. The Supreme Court of Alaska has ruled that the state's workers' compensation death benefits statute is unconstitutional to the extent that it bars a...read more.

 

New Jersey: Telecommuter's Death Was Not Causally Related to Her Work. The Supreme Court of New Jersey reversed an award of workers' compensation death benefits to the surviving spouse of an employee who died as a result of an embolism...read more.

 

South Carolina: Employer/Insurer Should Receive Partial Reimbursement for Extra Medical Costs, Outlays Related to Pre-existing Diabetes Condition. South Carolina established a Second Injury Fund to encourage employers to hire disabled or handicapped persons. Generally, if an employer can show that the injured worker's disability, following the...read more.

lexisnexis legal newsroom blogs

CassandraThe Carrot Cake Post...and a Delicious Outcome on a Firefighter Hearing Loss Claim in Delaware, by Cassandra Roberts, Esq. Read it

 

  

 

 

CassandraDelaware DOL Publishes New Rates....and a Law Firm Name Expands Just a Little, by Cassandra Roberts, Esq. Read it.

  

 

 

 

CassandraThe Return of Krispy Kreme: Delaware Courts Ready to Revisit the Issue of Illegal Aliens and Partial Disability?, by Cassandra Roberts, Esq. Read it.

  

 

 

 

BRBS logoResolving Longshore Claims Through Settlements and Stipulations, by Yelena Zaslavskaya, Senior Attorney for Longshore, Office of Adminstrative Law Judges, U.S. Dept. of Labor. Read it.

national & state news

National & State-by-State News on the Free Web:   

 

U.S. House Passes Bill to Help Boatyards Save on Workers Comp Insurance.

NIOSH Provides Free Online Emergency Responder Health Monitoring, Surveillance Training.

Sixth Circuit Clarifies MSP Cause of Action Against Non-Group Health Plan.

IronHealth Develops MSA Liability Insurance Policy.

U.S. Senate Introduces Medicare Set-Aside Bill.

CA: DWC Posts Ambulance Fee Schedule Changes.

CA: DWC Post IMR Process Update.

CA: WCJ Madsen's Move to Eureka Now Permanent.

CA: WCIRB Posts Agenda for Aug. 5 Actuarial Committee Meeting.

CA: WCIRB Posts Report Highlighting Medical Cost Trends.

CA: Federal Law No Bar to Enforcing Calif. Labor Laws Against Interstate Motor Carrier.

CA: Senate Committee to Hold Hearing on AB 1897 Contractor Liability.

CA: Sen. Leland Yee Pleads Not Guilty to Racketeering Charge.

IL: Governor Touts 5.5 Percent Drop in Workers' Comp Rates.

IL: High Court to Hear Appeal by State Treasurer in Injured Workers Benefit Fund Case.

MD: WCC Develops Online Reporting Tool for Prescription Drugs Cost Survey.

MO: With No PDMP, State Targeted by Out-of-State Drug Users.

NJ: Court Overturns Award to Claimant With PTSD Post 9/11.

NJ: High Court Denies WC Survivor Benefits in DVT Case.

NY: WCB Proposes New Workers' Comp Medical Fee Schedule.

NC: Court Rules Workers Injured After Employer Lunch Not Entitled to Comp.

OH: BWC Completes Asset Liability Study.

OK: Five Former WCC Employees File Lawsuit for Wrongful Termination.

OK: WCC Hires Public Information Officer, Communication Consultant.

OK: Asst. AG No Longer at Job After Providing Bad Advice on Open Meetings Act.

OR: DCBS Posts 2Q Fatality Report.

SC: Amy Bracy Selected as Judicial Director at WCC.

SD: NCCI Explains 8.3 Percent Decrease in 7-1-2014 Loss Cost Filing.

TX: Governor Appoints Ryan Brannan as DWC Commissioner.

TX: DWC Posts Informal Rules to Clarify Medical EDI Data Reporting Requirements.

ENEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

ArchivesTake a deep dive into our past eNewsletters for 2014 and prior...warning - some links to articles may not work...report any linking problems to [email protected].

July 28, 2014: Choosing an Effective TPA

July 21, 2014: Opioid Guidelines for Safety-Sensitive Jobs

July 14, 2014: Drug Formularies, Texas Style: Coming to a State Near You

July 7, 2014: Trust in the Workplace

ACCESS 2010-2014 ARCHIVES AND ARTICLES LIST HERE.

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