IL - Employer's Knowledge Decides Concurrent Employment
07/22/2026 | 0
An employer's knowledge that a worker holds a second job is enough to establish concurrent employment for average weekly wage calculations, even if the worker is furloughed at the time, an Illinois appellate court ruled.
The fact that Kathleen Collins was furloughed from her other job and not earning wages at the time of her injury does not disturb the finding of concurrent employment.
Collins injured her wrist in October 2020 working for J-H Alliance, which does business as the UPS Store.
An arbitrator in September 2022 found her injury arose out of and in the course of employmen
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A divided Vermont Supreme Court ruled that an injured courier was not entitled to additur or a new trial on his negligence claim against the owners of the property where he was hurt.
Case: Tiedemann v. Wheeler, No. 25-AP-322, 07/17/2026, published.
Facts: Justin Tiedemann worked as a courier for FedEx Express. On March 3, 2021, Tiedemann delivered a package to the home of Bernard and Catherine Wheeler.
Tiedemann had delivered packages to the Wheeler residence before and left the packages outside near a grill next to the garage.
On the day of the accident, Bernard Wheeler had cleared snow f
The Maryland Appellate Court ruled that a professional football player who was injured during an out-of-state practice three days after signing with the Washington Commanders was covered by Maryland’s workers’ compensation laws.
Case: In the Matter of Brooks, No. 549, 07/15/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Curtis Brooks played as a defensive tackle for the University of Cincinnati football team until 2021. He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth of seven rounds of the 2022 National Football League draft.
He moved to the Tennessee Titans in January 2023, but was cut from
The Virginia Court of Appeals upheld an award of benefits to a survivor of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the Pentagon for her post-traumatic stress disorder.
Case: RAND Corp. v. Williams, No. 0269-25-2, 07/14/2026, published.
Facts: Traci Williams worked as a research assistant for the RAND Corp., and she was assigned to work at the Pentagon during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In the aftermath of the attacks, she immediately sought mental health treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
In October 2001, Williams filed a claim with the Virginia Workers’ Compens
When determining whether a psychiatric impairment may be compensable, it’s important to understand the “violent act” exception.
In a previous article, “If Everything Is Catastrophic, Is Anything?", we explored the “catastrophic injury” exception under Labor Code § 4660.1(c)(2)(B). This article examines the other exception: the “violent act.”
Labor Code § 4660.1(c) provides:
(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), there shall be no increase in impairment ratings for sleep dysfunction, sexual dysfunction or psychiatr
A New York appellate court ruled that an insurance company could not substitute itself for a different carrier to challenge a decision by the Workers’ Compensation Board.
Case: Matter of Rivera v. Lettire Construction Corp., No. CV-24-1033, 07/09/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Pedro P. Minotta Rivera filed a claim for workers’ compensation benefits after he fell from a ladder while working for Lettire Construction Corp.
The Workers' Compensation Board indexed the claim against the Starr Indemnity & Liability Co., which denied the claim.
After an investig
The International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions and the American Association of Payers, Administrators, and Networks' Pharmacy Benefit Manager Council are holding a webinar Aug. 20 to discuss the impact of PBM legislation on workers' compensation systems.
The groups said "overly broad" PBM reform legislation is having an unintended consequence on workers' compensation, a system that is fundamentally different than group health.
The result is PBM measures are creating conflicting reimbursement rules that threaten injured workers' access to
Rand Corp. on Monday reported statistically significant increases in some guideline-concordant care that was exempted from prospective utilization review in the first 30 days of an injury, but the generally modest effects indicate that approval rates for early treatment requests in California were already above 90%.
In addition to recommending that the Legislature consider expanding the types of treatments that are exempt from prospective review beyond those included in SB 1160, researchers also recommended that the Department of Industrial Relations establish standardized data collection req
A Louisiana appellate court ruled that a temporary elections worker was not a state employee and that the parish registrar of voters was liable for her benefits.
Case: Negrete v. Parish of Caddo, No. 56,933-WCA, 07/15/2026, published.
Facts: The Caddo Parish Registrar of Voters hired Judy Negrete as a temporary employee in July 2019. Negrete earned $11.50 an hour working as needed around election times.
On March 11, 2021, Negrete was in a storage room filing absentee ballots in large plastic bins. After moving a bin on a metal shelf, she crouched to sit, but her office chair had rolled
Jacksonville, FL – July 10, 2026 – PhysNet welcomes Michelle Despres, PT, EMBA as Chief Operating Officer, strengthening its leadership team as the company enters its next stage of national growth.
A licensed physical therapist and seasoned healthcare executive, Michelle brings a strong blend of clinical insight, operational leadership, and people-centered strategy. S
An Ohio appellate court granted writ relief to a self-employed worker, finding that the Industrial Commission erred in calculating his average weekly wage without considering income from his wholly owned corporation.
Case: State ex rel. Parente v. Industrial Commission, No. 24AP-652, 07/14/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Joseph Parente is the owner and sole employee of Parente Homes Inc. PHI is an “S” corporation, or “pass-through” entity.
As the owner and an employee, Parente pays himself a yearly salary, reported on a W-2, and he receives a share of
A New York appellate court upheld the exclusion of evidence presented by a Labor Law defendant and a grant of summary judgment for the injured worker.
Case: Intriago v. 18th Highline Associates LLC, No. 2025-00322, 07/08/2026, published.
Facts: Walter Intriago allegedly was injured when he fell from a stack of doors at a construction site.
Intriago said he was directed by a supervisor to move a stack of doors, piled approximately 7 feet high, and other garbage to a container, and that there were 2 to 3 feet of snow covering the stack.
Intriago asserted that a
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was entitled to partial summary judgment on his Labor Law claim and that other parts of his claim were properly dismissed.
Case: Barbosa v. 1169 Hoe LLC, No. 805465/21, 07/09/2026, published.
Facts: Elisito De Jesus Lopez Barbosa allegedly injured his back while lifting concrete forms. According to Barbosa, he was pulling concrete forms to the third floor of a building when his foot slipped on rainwater and oil. Barbosa testified that a form was halfway through an opening when he slipped and that he did not know why he held onto it.
P
Professional administration and post-settlement medical care coordination provider Ametros announced Monday that President Andrea Mills was elected to the board of directors for Kids’ Chance of America.
KCOA is a charitable workers’ compensation industry organization dedicated to providing college scholarships to the children of workers who have been seriously or fatally injured on the job. It has awarded 11,000 scholarships totaling more than $42 million through its network of state chapters since its founding in 1988.
As a board member, Mills will join a group of indus
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker reappointed Gerald Napleton to serve as an arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission.
Napleton was an associate attorney at Ridge & Downes, where he handled workers' compensation and personal injury claims for clients before he was first appointed to serve as an arbitrator in 2020.
Napleton currently serves on the Illinois State Bar Association and is chairman of its Workers' Compensation Section.
He earned his bachelor's degree from Saint Xavier University and his law degree from DePaul University College of Law.
The appointment
The Utah Supreme Court said the Labor Commission Appeals Board lacked the discretion to dismiss an injured worker's claim after finding a pattern of antagonistic and obstructive behavior over three failed independent medical examinations.
Though the board characterized the behavior as a discovery violation to find the authority to dismiss the claim entirely, the high court said the Legislature specified that the penalty for obstructing an IME is to suspend the claim until the claimant comes into compliance.
"It follows that the only sanction available for obstruction of a medical ex
The Illinois Appellate Court ruled that if an employer receives the full amount of a worker’s third-party settlement via subrogation, it is properly assessed with the full amount of the worker’s costs and expenses.
Case: Larsen v. Vaid, No. 1-25-2100, 07/14/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Amada Larsen suffered injuries in an automobile accident with Vishal Vaid.
Larsen was acting within the course and scope of her employment as an officer with the Village of Carol Stream Police Department at the time of the crash.
The Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency
