Ninth Circuit Agrees Temporary Impairments Can Be Disabilities Under ADA
A recent decision by the Ninth Circuit confirms that temporary medical conditions can qualify as disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The outcome…
Questions about Oregon’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (PFMLI) program?
The Oregon Employment Department will administer this new leave program and is starting the process of outlining rules. Employers will begin collecting/paying contributions on January…
Increased WRMEs in Oregon?
A worker requested medical exam (WRME) is the equivalent of an insurer arranged independent medical exam–but as the title implies, requested specifically by the worker….
Oregon WCD Starts Rulemaking Process for Timeloss Bill (HB 4138)
The WCD held the first public meeting on May 3rd to address issues related to implementing HB 4138 made several changes to processing temporary disability…
Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board Reopening to the Public
After two years of telephonic and video hearings, the Oregon Workers Compensation Board is reopening to the public and starting to set in-person hearings and…
Washington L&I Conducts Ambient Heat Exposure Rulemaking
The Department is conducting rulemaking to update the requirements for occupational heat exposure from high ambient temperatures in all industries, including outdoor and indoor exposures….
Partial Denial does not Allow Apportionment of Impairment at Claim Closure in Oregon
On April 21, 2022, the Oregon Supreme Court issued its decision in Johnson v. SAIF Corporation, 369 Or 577 (2022). Johnson caught her hand in…
Changes Coming to Oregon’s Workplace Fairness Act January 1, 2023
The Oregon legislature made several changes and key clarifications to the Workplace Fairness Act during the 2022 legislative session. The law currently restricts employers from,…
Oregon Supreme Court Affirms Narrow Construction of Exemption To Subject Worker Statute
Employee or contractor? The classification of a worker can impact what benefits a worker is entitled to, and the trucking industry has often been at…
New L&I Rules Regarding IMEs Take Effect April 23, 2022
Starting April 23, 2022 the Washington Department of Labor & Industries will be implementing new rules regarding IME notices and what constitutes a “case progress…
Oregon Court of Appeals determines injury during paid break is not compensable
Are we seeing a shift in the Court of Appeals in relation to injuries during paid breaks? Recently, in Watt v. SAIF, the Court of…
Washington Legislature Potentially Provides Extended Benefits to Claimants on Reopen Applications
The Washington Industrial Insurance Act allows claimants to reopen their claims following closure when the conditions proximately related to their industrial injury or occupational disease…
2022 Legislative Update
The Oregon legislature met for a short regular session in early 2022, but we saw some significant changes to the workers’ compensation system in that…
Oregon Employment Department Finds Vaccine Mandate for Remote Workers Reasonable
The Oregon Employment Department recently denied a former Nike employee’s unemployment benefit application in February 2022. The worker, who worked remotely, was fired for failing…
Applying Dispositive Motions to Presumption Claims in Washington
The Hanford Presumption was created in HB 1723 back in March of 2018. It created a presumption that certain diseases and conditions, enumerated in RCW…
Washington’s Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals Provides Some Guidance in Applying Maphet
Ever since the Washington Court of Appeals issued the Clark County v. Maphet decision in late 2019, employers have struggled with the ramifications and implications…
Is an Off-Premises Exercise Injury Compensable When Participating in an Employer Wellness Program?
In the recent Watt case, the Oregon Court of Appeals considered compensability of a claim where the worker was exercising off premises as part of…
Take Note: Potential Implications for Oregon COVID Claims?
The Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion in Rogers v. Corvel Enterprise Comp. Inc., 317 Or App 116 (2022) that could have negative implications…
Department of Labor & Industries Amends Emergency Rule for Temporary Housing of Workers
Managing temporary housing for workers has been a significant undertaking for employers since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. In May of 2020, the Washington…
Navigating the maze of “combined condition” claim processing in Oregon
Last week, Evan Novotny provided analysis of numerous recent Board and Court of Appeals decisions, which highlight some of the multiple difficulties that employers/insurers/administrators face…
Oregon Court of Appeals issues another decision scrutinizing combined condition defenses
We often discuss combined condition acceptances and denials as useful claim processing tools, particularly in closing a claim which may otherwise be difficult to close,…
A New Year Means New Rules and Guidelines
As we hit the ground running in 2022, there are few rule changes to keep in mind when administering claims in Washington. I’ve included a…
Sixth Circuit Upholds Vaccine Mandate for Large Employers
Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit lifted a stay by the Fifth Circuit on President Biden’s federal vaccine mandate…
Oregon Course and Scope Cases Focusing on Where Injury Occurred
In two recent cases, the Oregon Court of Appeals found two off-premises injuries compensable. Charles Davis v SAIF, 316 Or App 301 (2021); Lahna Lynn…
Washington Supreme Court Issues Ruling on WISHA Violations for Staffing Agencies
In the recent Tradesman case, the Washington Supreme Court addressed whether in the joint employer context, staffing agencies may be liable employers for safety violations…
