CA - Senate Budget Bill Ties Part of DWC Funding to Governor's SIBTF Reform
06/08/2026 | 0
The California Senate is proposing to condition a small portion of the Division of Workers' Compensation's budget on the enactment of Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed reforms to the state's second injury fund.
The budget maneuver could signal that the administration is committed to pushing controversial budget language forward and that the dispute could carry on past the June budget deadline into the end of the legislative session.
Newsom's administration earlier this year proposed tightening eligibility standards for the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund after mor
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A Louisiana appellate court upheld the assessment of penalties and fees on an employer for its delay in providing treatment to an injured employee.
Case: Jardneaux v. Guernsey Holdings SDI TX Holdings Co. LLC, No. 25-548, 05/13/2026, published.
Facts: Tammi Jardneaux worked as a carhop at the Kinder Sonic. She passed out at work in May 2024, falling from a chair and striking her head on the concrete floor.
Jardneaux was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, then airlifted to another hospital, where she was treated for a stroke.
After two days in the hospital, Jardneaux went to see her fa
The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld an increase in a worker’s permanent partial disability award for a broken leg.
Case: Blackhawk Mining LLC v. Weis, No. 25-889, 06/01/2026, published.
Facts: Christian Weis worked for Blackhawk Mining LLC. He filed a workers’ compensation claim for an injury to his left leg, which occurred on Oct. 5, 2022.
Weis said he was driving a truck and came around a corner, hit another vehicle and became pinned inside the cab.
On Oct. 6, 2022, Weis underwent an open reduction internal fixation of the left tibia.
A claims administrator for Blackhawk&
A New York appellate court upheld the summary dismissal of a worker’s Labor Law claim for a trip-and-fall accident.
Case: Famula v. Kiewit-Weeks-Massman AJV, No. 31087/18, 05/14/2026, published.
Facts: Thomas Famula suffered injuries when he tripped while walking on an outdoor deck that was temporarily constructed to allow workers to demolish a bridge. He tripped on a small, raised piece of square plywood that had been fastened to the deck's surface to cover a hole.
Procedural history: Famula filed suit against Kiewit-Weeks-Massman AJV, asserting a claim for a violation of Labor L
A recent unpublished decision addressed the limitations of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board to substitute findings of fact in the appellate process.
In Los Angeles Department of Water and Power vs. WCAB (Jeanette France), the Court of Appeal reversed a WCAB appellate decision that substituted new findings of fact in a Labor Code 132(a) case.
The applicant was employed by the Department of Water and Power when she sustained an accepted injury on Jan. 9, 2017, to her lower back and shoulder. She was terminated on Feb. 1, 2017. The applicant was not a traditional employ
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was entitled to summary judgment for his injuries from a fall at a construction site.
Case: Perez v. Tanya Towers Inc., No. 28519/20, 05/19/2026, published.
Facts: Caesar Perez suffered injuries while working on a construction project when he was ordered to climb tubing to access an elevated sidewalk bridge to remove wood.
While Perez was climbing, the tubing came loose, causing him to fall.
Procedural history: Perez filed suit against Tanya Towers Inc., asserting a claim for a violation of Labor Law Section 240(1).
Section 240(1) imposes abs
Even if the federal government goes forward with a proposal to formally acknowledge legitimate medical uses for cannabis, the drug would not be available to federal employees who are injured on the job, under a labor appropriations bill passed Friday.
The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee voted 11-7 to appropriate $189.3 billion for fiscal year 2027.
Among other things, the measure explicitly prohibits the federal government from providing cannabis to injured federal workers.
"None of the funds made avail
Workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy for the family and estate of a worker who was murdered during an unpaid lunch break in his employer's parking lot, a California appeals court ruled.
Kevin Wrenne, 29, worked at a Taco Bell in downtown Redding. He was stabbed five times in the neck and chest in an unprovoked attack while taking his lunch break on March 28, 2022.
"The exclusive remedy provisions of the WCA apply here because Wrenne's injuries arose out of and occurred in the course of his employment with Taco Bell," the 3rd District Court of Appeal said in an
The Nevada Supreme Court ruled that an employer was entitled to a writ compelling summary judgment dismissing a third-party claim for indemnification or contribution.
Case: Burke Construction Group Inc. v. District Court (Shi), No. 90665, 06/01/2026, published.
Facts: Shauneene St. Amand worked for Burke Construction Group Inc. She suffered injuries in a motor vehicle accident with Zheng Shi.
St. Amand was acting in the course and scope of her employment with Burke at the time of the accident, and Burke maintained workers' compensation insurance covering her injuries.
Procedural h
May 20, 2026
A divided North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that the Industrial Commission had exclusive jurisdiction over a worker’s claims against his employer for negligence in responding to a medical emergency he experienced at work.
Case: Smith v. The BDK Group Shallotte LLC, No. COA25-738, 05/06/2026, published.
Facts: The BDK Group Shallotte LLC and affiliated entities jointly own, operate, manage and control a Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Shallotte. Jeffrey Smith worked for BDK as a district manager, and he went to the Shallotte location in April 2023 to prepare for a future store openin
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker who fell from a ladder was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law claim.
Case: De Souza v. El Sol Contracting and Construction Corp., No. 151863/21, 05/14/2026, published.
Facts: Ronald G. De Souza was injured when the upper half of a dismantled extension ladder, which lacked stabilizing feet, slid out from under him and collapsed while he was engaged in painting work from an elevated platform made of flexible corrugated metal.
Procedural history: De Souza filed suit against El Sol Contracting and Construction Corp., asserting a cla
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker should have been granted summary judgment on his Labor Law claim for his injuries from using an unguarded angle grinder.
Case: Terron-Alcantara v. Charlie's Real Estate LLC, No. 813407/22, 05/14/2026, published.
Facts: Edilberto Terron-Alcantara suffered injuries while working on a construction project when the angle grinder he was using kicked back and cut his arm.
Procedural history: Terron-Alcantara filed suit against Charlie's Real Estate LLC, asserting a claim for a violation of Labor Law Section 241(6).
Section 241(6) imposes non
The committee that advises the California Division of Workers' Compensation on evidence-based changes to the prescription drug formulary is meeting on July 15.
Members of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee are scheduled to discuss unique identifiers used for medications that are included on the Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule drug list.
The committee will also discuss GLP-1 medications, proton pump inhibitors, and anticonvulsant and migraine drugs.
The committee is meeting virtually from 12:30-2:30 p.m.
More information, including for accessing the virtual meeti
The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California posted a full agenda for its 2026 Annual Conference, which will be held virtually on July 16.
WCIRB President and CEO Andrea Coleman will deliver opening remarks, followed by Executive Vice President and Chief Actuary Tony Milano and other members of the WCIRB's actuarial team, who will discuss key cost drivers in the state and insights from the annual State of the System report.
The conference will also feature a panel discussion examining how cumulative trauma claims develop and evolve, as well as how they're
A New Jersey appeals court held that a judge of compensation did not abuse her discretion in striking an employer's defenses and ordering it to authorize recommended treatment.
Counsel for Lambertville House did not oppose Roger Kneezel's motion to strike its defenses, the New Jersey Superior Court's Appellate Division said in an unpublished decision handed down Monday. The employer also failed to provide discovery relating to surveillance footage for more than four months, and its subsequent appeal to the doctrine of substantial compliance was deemed unpersuasive.
"Here, ov
A federal appellate court upheld the summary dismissal of an Illinois worker’s claims for disability discrimination.
Case: Shiba v. Mullin, No. 24-2514, 05/05/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Dored Shiba began working for the Social Security Administration in 1998.
In late 2002, he slipped and fell in the bathroom at work, hitting his head on a sink. Shiba resigned and applied for Social Security disability benefits. He also sought and was approved for disability retirement, which entitled him to a separate annuity from the Office of Personnel Management.
In April 2007,
