In Weidenhammer v. WCAB (Albright College ), 546 C.D. 2019, the Commonwealth Court issued a significant opinion on the retroactivity of Protz v. WCAB (Derry Area School Dist .), 161 A.3d 827 (Pa. 2017) ( Protz II ). The Commonwealth Court held Protz II , which determined Impairment Rating Evaluations (IREs) under Section 306(a.2) were invalid...
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C&W Journal
May 16, 2020
Paul A. Cacciamani, Esq. Persuades PA Commonwealth Court to Hold that Protz II Should Not Have Full Retroactive Effect
May 13, 2020
GA Supreme Court Issues Second Order Extending Declaration of...
On Monday, May 11, 2020, the Georgia Supreme Court issued its Second Order Extending Declaration of Statewide Judicial Emergency (the “Emergency Order”). The order, in essence, limits court to...
May 07, 2020
PA Extends Civil Immunity to Certain Health Care Professionals...
On May 6, 2020, Governor Wolf issued an executive order conferring civil immunity to a wide range of health care professionals responding to the COVID-19 emergency. Legally speaking, the order...
May 07, 2020
COVID-19: Virtual Arbitration Proceedings in NJ Courts
New Jersey requires that most civil litigation matters proceed to a mandatory, non-binding arbitration prior to being listed for trial. In the cases that qualify for the program, the matters are...
May 06, 2020
COVID-19: Georgia Supreme Court Likely to Extend Video Trial in...
The Georgia Supreme Court seems likely to extend the video conference trial rule (Unified Superior Court Rule 9.1) by amendment this week. In essence, the rule will provide parties the option of...
May 06, 2020
COVID-19: FFCRA Guidance for Teleworkers
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) provides necessary guidance to employers regarding teleworking. Because employees who are able to telework are exempt from receiving benefits...
May 05, 2020
NJ Court Deadlines Extended for Another Month Due to COVID-19
We recently published a detailed summary of how the New Jersey Courts have responded to the COVID-19 crisis. As of April 24, 2020, the Supreme Court has extended certain deadlines for another...
May 04, 2020
COVID-19: How the NJ Courts Have Responded to Social Distancing...
New Jersey has been one of the states that has been most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, a stay-at-home order has been in effect since March 21, 2020. In response, the New Jersey...
April 22, 2020
COVID-19: Expanded FMLA Only Applies to Childcare
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) requires covered employers to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID...
April 20, 2020
COVID-19: Proposed Changes to the PA Workers' Compensation Act
This past week, both the Pennsylvania House and Senate considered legislation to lower the burden of proof in COVID-19 cases for Pennsylvania's first responders. 1 Although unsuccessful to date,...
April 20, 2020
COVID-19: PA Department of Health Issues New Worker Safety Order...
Effective 8 PM on April 19, 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Health implemented a new Order augmenting the safety precautions required by all life-sustaining businesses . There has been some...
April 17, 2020
OSHA Issues Guidance for Recording Cases of COVID-19
On April 10, 2020 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its Enforcement Guidance for Recording Cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), 1 clarifying that confirmed...
April 16, 2020
COVID-19: FMCSA Provides New Guidance for SDLAs and Commercial...
On April 13, 2020, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published an updated list of responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding actions that a State Driver...
April 16, 2020
COVID-19: New Jersey Senate Backs Bill to Expand Workers’...
As reported on www.nj.com , State Senate President Stephen Sweeney announced proposed legislation to remove the requirement that workers deemed essential during the COVID-19 pandemic, and who...
April 07, 2020
COVID-19: Supreme Court of Georgia Extends Judicial Emergency
On Tuesday April 6, 2020 at 4:30 p.m., Supreme Court of Georgia Chief Justice Harold D. Melton extended the Statewide Judicial Emergency which would have expired on April 13, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. In...
April 06, 2020
Coronavirus Could Accelerate U.S. Cannabis Legalization
The current pandemic has Americans afraid, economically vulnerable, and turning to help from their government in record numbers. State and local governments have so far been up to the task, but as...
April 06, 2020
COVID-19: FMCSA Provides Relief for Expired CDL’s and Medical...
As we have previously reported, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a temporary waiver for some commercial vehicle drivers to address disruptions in licensing and other...
April 03, 2020
COVID-19: Temporary Rule - Small Employer Exemption Under FFCRA
In follow-up to our prior summary of the recently issued “Temporary Rule” by the Department of Labor, we are providing this outline of the Small Employer Exemption criteria. The FFCRA provided...
April 03, 2020
COVID-19: Temporary Rule - Hours and Wages Under FFCRA
In follow-up to our prior summary on the newly issued “Temporary Rule” by the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, please find a discussion of the newly created FFCRA “hours and wages”...
April 03, 2020
COVID-19: Temporary Rule - Intermittent Leave
In follow-up to our prior summary on the newly issued “Temporary Rule” by the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, please find a discussion of the newly created FFCRA “intermittent leave”...
April 03, 2020
COVID-19: FFCRA Guidance as DOL Issues Temporary Rule
The Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division has issued a “Temporary Rule” providing additional guidance and definition to the Families First Coronavirus Act (FFCRA). This rule went into effect...