Workers’ Comp Settlement Deemed Unjust by Appeals Court
The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled last Tuesday that an injured worker and his employer cannot independently agree on a settlement if the North Carolina Industrial Commission has gotten involved in the claim, according to the Triangle Business Journal. Danny Allred was injured in a motor vehicle accident while he was employee of Exceptional Landscapes Inc. in Hillsborough. Exceptional Landscapes did not have workers’ compensation insurance, even though it was required to by law. Allred filed a claim with the Commission and the case went to mediation. Allred ended up agreeing...
Read MoreWhistleblowers Denied Protection in NC Court of Appeals
Three former Forsyth County Board of Election employees who alleged they were treated unfairly for blowing the whistle on their supervisor were denied the right to sue under the North Carolina Whistleblowers Protection Act (WPA). The North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of claims brought by Pamela Johnson, Deena Head and Terry Cox under the WPA. Johnson had reported BOE Director Robert Coffman for misusing a county credit card and Johnson and Cox had alleged he was violating election laws. Head accused the Coffman of sexual harassment. The three claimed they should be...
Read MoreFourth Circuit Court of Appeals turns away claim of employee who claimed a sexually hostile work environment
This week the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, based in Richmond, Virginia, rejected the appeal of a former employee who claimed that she had been the victim of constant discrimination, harassment, assault, and subjection to a sexually hostile work environment. For the three-judge panel in the case of Balas v. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., more important than the woman’s claim of sex discrimination was her falsified time card concealing an hour in which she did not work. The plaintiff had asked for leave to amend her complaint but leave was denied....
Read MoreCourt of Appeals says that employer had notice of injury, cannot direct medical care
Today a three-judge panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals held that an employee of Bank of America did not need to give written notice of his injury, where he was hit by a car while driving at work. The employee called his employer from the car, and several co-workers went to help him; yet Bank of America had said that it did not have sufficient notice of the injury. The Full Industrial Commission and the Court of Appeals rejected this argument, in Yingling v. Bank of America. The Court also held that although the employer in a workers’ compensation case normally directs...
Read MoreJudge rejects Diocese motion to dismiss claims of abuse
In two alleged child sex abuse cases, John Doe 1K and John Doe 2K v. Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, NC, and John Doe and The Estate of Vincent Cook v. Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, NC, the Diocese had argued to the Court that the claims of three plaintiffs should be dismissed, and not allowed togo any further. The Mecklenburg County judge responsible for the case conducted a hearing. On July 13, the judge denied the motion and ordered that all three cases could proceed, on one issue, the statute of limitations. If the plaintiffs win on that issue, they can then proceed to...
Read MoreControversial workers’ compensation bill signed into law
Last month the North Carolina legislature passed a bill aimed at workers’ compensation reform. One controversial part to the bill had media leaders and open records activists calling for Gov. Perdue to veto it. According to an article in the Charlotte Observer, the bill restricts public access to the information provided to the Industrial Commission by the Rate Bureau. That means employees would not be able to view Industrial Commission records to see if their employer has workers’ compensation insurance. This week, Gov. Perdue seemingly ignored the media’s request...
Read More
