Judge Jim Wynn was finally confirmed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals last week.  Judge Wynn was first nominated for the court in 1999. His confirmation comes after months of being held up in the Senate by Republican obstruction after President Obama re-nominated him last year.  (Republicans, however, are still holding up the confirmation of North Carolina Judge Albert Diaz to another seat on the Fourth Circuit.)  Judge Wynn was sworn in on Tuesday, and officially resigned from his seat on the North Carolina Court of Appeals.  Judge Wynn’s former seat on the Court of Appeals will now be up for election in November.

Categories: General News Tags: Fourth Circuit, Judge Diaz, Judge Wynn, NC Court of Appeals, North Carolina, President Obama, Senate

Senate Democrats, with the help of only two Republicans, were finally available to break the deadlock over the extension of unemployment benefits.  President Obama signed the bill this past Thursday.  This bill provides a continuation of the program of extended benefits for those who exhaust the standard 26 weeks of unemployment benefits.  Coverage is here, here.  Although this bill is only a small part of the jobs-boosting agenda Congress needs to have, it was still vital for millions of unemployed having great difficulty finding a job in this broken economy.  For an example, see here.  Although there appears to be too much opposition for additional action on jobs right now, one hopes both parties will come to their senses and realize that the federal government can and must do much more to create sustainable employment growth.

For those seeking benefits, see this note from the North Carolina Employment Security Commission: “On July 22, 2010, the extension of the Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) program was signed into law. The new law extends the filing deadline, but it does not provide for additional EUC08 tiers. The ESC is working with the Department of Labor to implement this change as quickly as possible. If you are currently filing for benefits please continue to do so. If you are not currently filing for benefits our agency will notify you on how to reinstate your claim.”

Categories: Legislative Action Tags: Congress, Employment Security Commission, Extended Benefits, Job Creation, Labor and Employment, North Carolina, President Obama, Unemployment Benefits

Last year, the State expanded the coverage of the North Carolina Guaranty Association to include structured settlement annuitities for North Carolina residents.   This is especially important for people who receive annuities as part of a workers’ compensation or personal injury settlement.  Coverage here.  One part of the new law’s language was less than clear, which required an amendment.  The amendment makes clear that annuity protection runs to the benefit of the actual beneficiary, the “payee” of the policy.  The text can be found here.  The amendment was enacted during the legislature’s short session this summer and signed by the governor.  Hank Patterson and Narendra Ghosh assisted with the legislative effort.

Categories: Legislative Action Tags: Hank Patterson, Legislation, Narendra Ghosh, NC Legislature, North Carolina, Personal Injuries, Structured Settlements, Workers' Compensation

The Fourth Circuit has issued another good decision in favor of employees who are sexually harassed in EEOC v. Fairbrook Medical Clinic. This case involves a family medicine practice in Hickory, North Carolina.  Here’s the summary: “The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought this suit on behalf of Dr. Deborah Waechter against her former employer, Fairbrook Medical Clinic. The agency alleges that Dr. John Kessel, the sole owner of the clinic, subjected Waechter to a hostile work environment because of her sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. The district court held that Kessel’s conduct was not sufficiently severe or pervasive to constitute a hostile work environment. What happened here, however, was not merely general crudity but a series of graphic remarks of a highly personal nature directed at a female employee by the sole owner of an establishment. After carefully considering these circumstances, we conclude that the EEOC has presented an issue of triable fact and accordingly reverse.” Here’s more from the opinion: Read more…

Categories: Judicial Decisions Tags: Case Commentary, Discrimination, EEOC, Fourth Circuit, Hostile Work Environment, Labor and Employment, North Carolina, Severe and Pervasive Conduct, Sexual Harassment

The New York Times has this article about the Obama Administration’s effort to enforce the child labor and wage and hour laws on farms, and describes the effort in North Carolina in particular.  The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) contains several exceptions for farmworkers, but sometimes-ignored restrictions of child labor are apparently now being more vigorously enforced.

Categories: General News Tags: Child Labor, Fair Labor Standards Act, Farm Workers, FLSA, Labor and Employment, Minimum Wage, North Carolina

On May 28, 2010, the House passed a watered-down jobs bill. It extends the extra unemployment benefits program for another six months, though those benefits have now expired as of the end of May. Very significantly, the House bill did not include an extension of the expanded COBRA program for health insurance.

The Senate has yet to act.  Because the unemployment benefits have expired, unemployed workers are losing benefits right now, and will cotninue to until the Senate passes a matching bill.  The N&O has this article on effects to workers in North Carolina.  It is imperitive that the Senate quickly pass a bill to extend the unemployment benefits program, and include an extension of COBRA benefits.  With the unemployment rate still near 11% in North Carolina, unemployed and uninsured workers cannot afford more delay from Congress.

Categories: Legislative Action Tags: COBRA, Congress, Labor and Employment, North Carolina, Unemployment Benefits

Valerie Johnson is speaking at tomorrow’s NCAJ 2009 Workplace Torts and Workers’ Compensation CLE, to be held in Chapel Hill.  Valerie’s presentation topic and paper are entitled State Employee Benefits and Workers’ Comp: 2009 Update.  One of the significant changes to be discussed is that Corvel Corporation is now the administrator of workers’ comp benefits on behalf of the State, taking the place of Key Risk earlier this year.

Summary: Although the interaction between the state employee benefits system and the workers’ compensation system has some points of friction that have been the source of litigation, as a general rule, the two systems fit together fairly neatly. This paper provides a broad overview of the benefits available to state employees from the State and discusses how the receipt of workers’ compensation benefits would affect these benefits. Finally, it discusses how the careful structuring of settlements can mitigate or avoid offsets of workers’ compensation benefits against benefits from the State.

Categories: News of the Firm Tags: Articles, Corvel, NCAJ, North Carolina, Presentation, State Benefits, State Employees, Valerie Johnson, Workers' Compensation

The Senate on Monday voted 72-to-16 to confirm Judge Andre M. Davis to a seat on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Judge Davis has been a judge since 1987, and a federal trial judge since 1995.  He was first nominated to the Fourth Circuit by President Clinton in 2000, wasn’t confirmed then, and was renominated by President Obama in April.

Judge Davis fills the first of what had been five vacancies on the Fourth Circuit.  Two judges from North Carolina, Judge Jim Wynn of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and Judge Albert Diaz on the North Carolina Business Court, were nominated to the Fourth Circuit last week.  Their nominations are pending.

Categories: General News Tags: Fourth Circuit, North Carolina, President Obama, Senate

The Senate finally passed the extension for unemployment insurance last week, and it was promptly signed by President Obama on Friday.  The extension was originally passed by the House in September, but it had been held up in the Senate by Republicans.  The extension will provide 20 additional weeks of benefits for unemployed workers in North Carolina.  Some basic details are here, but more concrete information should posted on the ESC’s site shortly.

Categories: Legislative Action Tags: Congress, Employment Security Commission, Labor and Employment, North Carolina, President, Unemployment Benefits

Despite employers’ continual complaints that workers’ compensation costs too much, North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin has approved a nearly 10 percent decrease in workers’ compensation insurance policy rates.  This demonstrates that a good workers’ compensation system, such as North Carolina’s, can both fairly compensate injured workers and be affordable for companies.

Categories: General News Tags: Insurance Rates, North Carolina, Workers' Compensation