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!
Missouri: Illegal Immigration Committee begins work
The Missouri Senate Interim Committee on Illegal Immigration conducted its first meeting Wednesday morning to examine varying aspects of illegal immigration and its effects on the state. Its goal is to understand and identify ways to discourage illegal immigration and capture revenues the state is missing from the underground economy. Committee members also plan to look into the abuses of out-of-state companies bringing illegal immigrants into Missouri to work without paying state taxes or obeying Missouri’s labor laws. Missouri Times
Labor Department hosts employee classification forums
The U.S. Department of Labor scheduled two public forums to get feedback regarding employee classification definitions. At the first, participants asked the Labor Department to not make it more difficult for a person to be designated as an independent contractor. The second was scheduled for Wednesday, June 29. The Department of Labor said it is using the public forums to help establish definitions of “employee” and “independent contractor” under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Land Line
New Jersey judge steps down after two decades on the bench
New Jersey Superior Court Presiding Judge Harold U. Johnson, who joined Superior Court in July 2002, six months after an appointment to the state Workers’ Compensation Court, is tying up loose ends after 20 years in the state judiciary’s Family Division. Daily Journal
Federal lawsuit filed challenges pending Oregon smoke, heat rules
As new Oregon workplace smoke regulation takes effect, a federal lawsuit filed in Medford by the Oregon Manufacturers and Commerce, Associated Oregon Loggers Inc. and the Oregon Forest Industries Council is challenging the rule. Their formal complaint claims the rules violate the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment and violate the state’s own policy. KDRV