NorthCarolinaLaw

www.edelsteinpayne.com Federal Judge Refuses Slower Phase-in of $15 Minimum Wage for Franchisees Originally Posted by Sean Cecil  Mar 18, 2015 (0 Comments) A franchisee trade group sued the City of Seattle and demanded an injunction preventing the City from classifying them as "large businesses" under the City's $15 Minimum Wage ordinance which provides for different phase-in schedules based upon business size. The businesses sought a court order to enjoin the classification while the case is pending in the Western District of Washington, but the motion was denied by Judge Richard Jones yesterday in a 44-page memorandum opinion in   International Franchise Association, Inc. v. City of Seattle , Case no. C14-848 RAJ.  A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary remedy, and must be supported by a finding that the requesting party is likely to succeed on the merits of the case and would suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is denied, the balance of equ...

www.edelsteinpayne.com Federal medical marijuana legislation to be introduced today Originally Posted by Sean Cecil Mar 10, 2015 (0 Comments) Monumental proposed federal legislation is about to be introduced in the United States Senate today. Sens. Rand Paul (KY), Cory Booker (NJ), and Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) are set to announce the introduction of the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and States' Rights (CARERS) Act. This is the first time a bill that would make medical marijuana legal under federal law has been introducted in the Senate.  According to the Marijuana Policy Project, the bill would make production, distribution, and possession of marijuana (cannabis) for medical purposes that are legal under state law also legal under federal law. The proposed legislation would also remove barriers to scientific research (by moving marijuana from schedule I to schedule II), allow VA doctors to recommend medical marijuana, allow interstate transportation of CBD o...

www.edelsteinpayne.com CA police officers sue claiming retaliation for protesting unlawful quotas Originally posted by Sean Cecil March 4, 2015 (0 comments) Claiming they were retaliated against for objecting to management imposed quotas that violate California law, six Whittier police officers have filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court. In a case that will surely involve analysis of public employee first amendment free speech rights, the officers claim they were subject to undue discipline and other retaliation as a result of their efforts to uphold the law. This case sounds remarkably similar to the 2nd Circuit case I  wrote about yesterday ; apparently cops are trying to meet quotas across the country! As discussed in that post, their method of speaking out will likely be an issue in determining whether or not their objections were protected speech.   More from the Whittier Herald ________________________________________ If you, a co-...

www.edelsteinpayne.com Pro Publica and NPR publish scathing review of national workers' compensation "reform" Originally Posted by Sean Cecil March 4, 2015 (0 Comments) "Insult to Injury" is the apt title of Pro Public and National Public Radio's series which began today with   "The Demolition of Worker's Comp."  Today's report highlighted several harmful results of the so-called "reform" movement in state workers' compensation laws, pushed largely by business and insurance interests. The authors detailed the erosion of workers' rights over the last 30 years, state by state, and drew attention to the outrageous discrepancies between states- for instance, a toe lost on the job in California is worth only $6,000.00, while the same injury will result in $90,000.00 in compensation in next-door neighbor Oregon; the maximum compensation for loss of an eye is $27,280.00 in Alabama, but is $261,525.00 in Pennsylvania. I...

www.edelsteinpayne.com/REDA-SeanCecil North Carolina's Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act (REDA) Originally Posted by Sean Cecil May 4, 2015 (0 Comments) The North Carolina Retaliatory Discrimination Act, commonly referred to as REDA, prohibits retaliation against workers exercising rights under a variety of laws. Originally passed in an early-90's wave of reform litigation spurred by the disastrous   Imperial Food Products fire , the law bans discimination against people who have exercised or threatened to exercise their rights under the state's Workers' Compensation Act, the Wage and Hour Act, OSHA, and the Mine Safety and Health Act. REDA also protects victims of domestic violence and certain other individuals from discriminatory retaliation. The Imperial Food Products fire, on September 3, 1991 resulted in 25 workers killed and 55 injured, in large part because fire doors were locked to prevent theft. Survivors later claimed that they were nervou...

www.edelsteinpayne.com Do I have a valid North Carolina claim for Worker's Compensation? Originally Posted by Sean Cecil March 3, 2015 (0 Comments) The Workers' Compensation Act (N.C.G.S. Ch. 97) provides the exclusive relief for workers injured on the job. The law contains specific factual and procedural requirements to successfully make a claim; this article explains the factual requirements of a valid claim for workers' compensation in North Carolina. There are two kinds of claims, occupational injuries and occupational  diseases . There are special requirements for each. Occupational Injuries For occupational injuries, the injury must arise out of work. For all parts of the body except spinal (back or neck) injuries or hernias, the injury must be the result of an accident. If the injury comes as a result of just doing your normal routine work activity, it is not covered, but just about anything out of the ordinary or unusu...

www.edelsteinpayne.com What types of benefits might I be eligible for under the North Carolina Workers' Compensation Act? Originally posted by Sean Cecil on March 3, 2015 (0 Comments) As discussed in our previous article , the North Carolina Workers' Compensation Act provides the exclusive relief for workers who are injured on the job. An injury that even temporarily prevents you from returning to work is a difficult experience under even the best circumstances. It is natural to worry about the future, about how the bills will be paid, and whether benefits available under workers' comp will be sufficient. This article is intended to explain those benefits and help injured workers plan for the future. There are basically four different types of benefits an injured worker can receive under the comp act: 1. Medical benefits : All of the reasonable and necessary medical treatment that arises from your injury or disease sho...

www.edelsteinpayne.com Free Speech Rights for Public Employees Examined in NYPD Quota Whistleblower Case Originally Posted by Sean Cecil March 3, 2015 (0 Comments) Law enforcement quotas are a travesty, and the NYPD officer who spoke out against them to a superior was speaking as a citizen rather than as an officer, and thus was protected by the First Amendment guarantee of the right to free speech. So said the federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals last week in  Matthews v. New York , No. 13-2915-cv. The case, brought by the NYCLU, alleged that the New York Police Department retaliated against officer Matthews for his exercise of his First Amendment right to free speech when he spoke out to his precinct commanders against quotas. Matthews, a 17-year veteran police officer, claimed that the retaliation included punitive assignments, denial of overtime and leave, separation from his longtime partner, poor evaluations, a...