Dermatology owner defrauds workers’ comp

• The former owner and operator of a Norfolk-based dermatology practice was sentenced in federal court in Worcester for fraudulently receiving federal workers’ compensation and disability benefits from the Social Security Administration.
• Karen Nolan, 66, of Norwood, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to time served (one day in prison) and three years of supervised release, with the first six months in home confinement.
• Nolan was also ordered to pay restitution of $235,563 to the Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) and $78,446 to the SSA. On Sept. 22, 2023, Nolan pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of public funds and two counts of making false statements.
• Nolan falsely reported to the SSA that she had not worked since 2017 due to a medical disability, but was actively self-employed at a dermatology practice at the time. Nolan also made similar false statements to OWCP in May 2021.
  Read more

Report says Massachusetts construction workers being exploited

• Nearly 14% of Massachusetts construction workers are being misclassified or paid off the books, resulting in them being taken advantage of by their employers, at a cost of about $235 million a year to Bay State taxpayers.
• Some of these indiscretions include a lack of adequate workers’ compensation for employees, according to the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters.
• The group estimates up to 2.1 million construction workers nationwide, representing 10% to 19% of the industry’s total workforce, are subject to the same economic abuses.
• The total nationwide cost to taxpayers clocks in somewhere between $5 billion and $10 billion a year, the union, according to the council.
  Read more

Workers’ Comp immunity might now work in lawsuit

• The Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled that immunities protecting employers from work-injury suits might not apply to the owner of a construction company from a worker’s negligence action.
• The majority of judges ruled that it was possible the defendant was not the plaintiff’s co-employee when the accident occurred.
• The defendants cautioned that the ruling would expose small business owners to personal liability for employees’ work injuries.
• The majority’s ruling reverses the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in the defendant’s favor and remands the matter, for further proceedings.
  Read more

Lawmakers eye unionization for farmworkers

• Four Pennsylvania lawmakers are close to introducing legislation to allow farm workers to unionize.
• New York passed similar legislation that gave farm employees the right to organize but not to strike.
• New York farmworkers are also eligible for workers’ comp, disability insurance and paid family leave, unemployment insurance, and a day of rest in a week. Farm workers are also now to be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours a week.
• The Pennsylvania bill is expected to include protections for farm workers from discrimination based on race, age, and gender.
  Read more