On March 18, President Obama signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act (H.R. 2847, summary here), a $38 billion jobs bill comprised of several tax breaks and spending provisions to encourage employers to start hiring again. The bi… Read More

Hank Patterson spoke at the Iowa Association of Justice’s 19 Annual Workers’ Compensation Seminar last month in Des Moines. His presentation discussed National Legilsation and Policy Priorities for Workers Compensation, and specifically a… Read More

On Friday, in Baxter v. Danny Nicholson, Inc., the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld an Industrial Commission decision that defendants had attacked on the grounds that one of the Commissioners was not authorized to exercise his powers on the day of… Read More

On March 2, President Obama signed the Temporary Extension Act of 2010 (summary here), a bill that will extend the 65 percent premium COBRA subsidy through March 31, 2010, and unemployment assistance benefits through April 5, 2010. The Senate passed… Read More

Earlier this month, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued several notable decisions. In Soder v. Corvel Corp., the Court effectively reminded workers’ compensation litigants to timely file their appeals to the Industrial Commission. In thi… Read More

The federal D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision last month, in Shuler v. PriceWaterhouseCoopers, sharply restricting the scope of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which President Obama signed into law soon after entering office. The Fair… Read More

The North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion on February 16, in Deal v. Frye Regional Medical Center, addressing the line between medical malpractice cases and ordinary negligence cases. There are special requirements on plaintiffs who file… Read More

Inexplicably, Republican Senator Jim Bunning has held up a much-needed extension of unemployment and COBRA benefits. Bunning has single-handily blocked a vote on a 30-day extension by being the only senator to oppose a unanimous consent motion to vot… Read More