Link between extreme heat exposure to avoidable costs to employers
- North Carolina employers may be paying higher workers’ compensation claim costs in years with more hot weather.
- The “Excessive Heat in North Carolina” report found a link between extreme heat exposure in four major industries and avoidable costs to employers, including increased worker compensation for missed wages.
- The report was prepared by Milliman and commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
- When agriculture, construction/erection, cartage/trucking, and commercial enterprises were considered together, there was a positive correlation between the annual number of hours with a heat index above 90°F and workers’ comp claim costs for lost wages.
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Navigating workers’ comp in Pennsylvania
- In Pennsylvania, you are given up to 120 days to report such an incident, although immediate reporting is recommended.
- Delayed reporting might trigger doubts, which could eventually result in claim rejection.
- Nearly all workers are protected under the Pennsylvania workers comp legislation from their initial day at work.
- This protection extends to those employed part-time, seasonally, and even those of minor age.
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Woman pushing for workers’ comp
- A woman in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, has been fighting for more than a decade for benefits from Nova Scotia’s Workers’ Compensation Board and she said will continue to push ahead.
- But Melissa Ellsworth said she can’t wait any longer for pain relief and has applied for medical assistance in dying, also known as MAID.
- Ellsworth said workplace injuries while nursing in 2006 and working as a corrections officer in 2009 have left her with constant pain and unable to eat properly.
- She has been off work since 2010, and has shrunk a couple of inches in height and now weighs under 100 pounds.
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Home Depot not liable for dog bite
- The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled a Home Depot store and two of its supervisors in were not liable beyond workers’ compensation for an incident in which its employee was bitten by a customer’s dog.
- The employee was working at a Home Depot store when a customer’s dog bit her.
- She reported the bite promptly to her supervisors.
- The supervisors and Home Depot investigated, but they also barred the employee from having any further contact or interaction with the dog owner or any witnesses.
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