Navigating workers’ comp and the landscaping injury

• Landscape workers sometimes work in perilous environments and are at risk for injuries, which can mean workers’ comp claims.
• To receive compensation, the specific event does not need to be the sole cause of the injury. Accidents that aggravate, accelerate or exacerbate a pre-existing medical condition also entitle New Jersey landscapers to workers’ compensation benefits.
• Many occupational workers’ compensation claims commonly involve so-called “wear-and-tear” injuries.
• This also includes exposure over time to harmful substances that eventually develop into a variety of diseases.
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Connecticut amends workplace laws

• The state of Connecticut shot down two proposals that expanded Connecticut paid sick leave law.
• One of those measures would have covered all private sector employers and employees and broadened the range of family members employees may use leave.
• It also increased the rate at which employees accrue leave and broadened reasons employees may use leave.
• HB 6668 also failed and it would have modified the state’s paid sick leave law to require all employers with 11 or more employees to provide 40 hours of paid sick leave to all employees among other considerations.
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East Coast trails West for smoke exposure protections

• Outdoor workers on the East Coast had to deal with thick wildfire smoke that drifted down from Canada.
• These employees don’t have the same protections as on the West Coast because there are OSHA rules for wildfire smoke exposure in Pacific states.
• California and Oregon enacted workplace health rules covering wildfire smoke and Washington state’s rule is coming, but federal OSHA and eastern state workplace agencies haven’t adopted similar regulations.
• If states in the east had the same rules as the west, employers would be required to provide free N95 respirators to their outdoor workers and take other precautions.
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Chronic noise can be a health risk

• Chronic noise exposure can be a health risk, including cardiovascular disease and other issues.
• The NIOSH Sound Level Meter app for iOS, designed by the NIOSH, was developed by acoustics engineers and medical experts to help workers prevent hearing loss and is helpful for detecting systemic risks.
• Users can search their ZIP code in an online noise map developed by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
• The app’s accuracy was verified in an acoustics laboratory and published in a scientific journal.
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