Note: Workers’ Comp Executive will take its annual summer break starting Monday, July 4, and resume daily publication Monday, July 18. Happy Fourth of July to all of our valued subscribers!
$650K awarded for Massachusetts contractor’s retaliation against injured immigrant employee
A federal jury has awarded $600,000 in punitive damages and $50,000 in compensatory damages after finding that a Massachusetts employer and his company retaliated against an employee who reported a serious, job-related injury. The lawsuit alleged the defendants initiated a law enforcement investigation and facilitated the employee’s detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. New Bedford Guide
New West Virginia appeals court chief judge says court ready to begin July 1
Dan Greear, the first chief judge of the new West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals, says the court is ready to begin work July 1. The new court is meant to help take the load off of the state Supreme Court and allow the justices to focus on precedent-setting legal cases. It also replaces the Workers’ Compensation Office of Administrative Judges with a Workers’ Compensation Board of Review from where decisions can be appealed to the intermediate court. Journal-News
Five injured in explosion at Pennsylvania medical cannabis facility
Five people were injured, two of them seriously, in an explosion at a medical cannabis plant in Fulton County, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday. Fed-OSHA is investigating. Fox43
Here’s how Nevada OSHA is protecting employees from heat this summer
Nevada OSHA’s new heat illness standards took effect June 15. Recommendations for businesses include training and providing personal protective clothing and equipment, providing fans, shade or better ventilation, and allowing new employees to acclimate to the heat. News4