BACKGROUND On June 3, 2019 the Colorado Supreme Court issued a published opinion captioned Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Division of Workers’ Compensation v. Dami Hospitality, LLC, 2019SC47. The decision involved a fine handed down by the DOWC against an uninsured employer. FACTS Dami Hospitality, LLC., (Dami) is the owner of a hotel in…
It’s hard to believe that the 2018 NFL football season is coming to an end soon with Super Bowl LIII. And for the 16th time in 18 years a quarterback named Brady, Manning, or Roethlisberger will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. This will be the 9th appearance for Patriot’s Quarterback Tom Brady while…
The issue of overpayments has drawn much attention in recent years. Several claims have gone up to the appellate courts regarding the jurisdiction and ability of the Division and an ALJ to order repayment of workers’ compensation benefits that were previously paid. As you may imagine, repayment of several thousand dollars by a claimant is…
We have all heard the grim news; a school in Parkland, a concert in Las Vegas, a nightclub in Orlando, a church in Charleston, a movie theater in Aurora. The scenes have become far too common. While we may think of the scenes of these places as serving a specific function, such as education, the…
BACKGROUND There has been growing governmental concern in the State of Colorado over uninsured employers. Changes to the Workers’ Compensation Act in 2005 created stiffer fines for employers who fail to comply with mandated coverage for workers’ compensation benefits. The Division of Workers’ Compensation Director is required to impose a fine of $250 per day…
The Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) new overtime rules take effect December 1, 2016, and employers should be reviewing and modifying their compensation and payroll practices in response. Here is a link to the new regulations adopted by the Department of Labor: http://webapps.dol.gov/FederalRegister/PdfDisplay.aspx?DocId=28355 As part of this preparation, employers must consider whether and how any changes to…
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires many employers with ten or more employees to keep a record of serious work related injuries and illnesses (certain low risk industries are exempted). Employers must report any worker fatality within 8 hours and any amputation, loss of an eye, or hospitalization of any worker within 24…
The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, through its Medicaid program, is responsible for collection of outstanding liens for the state. This department is in charge of disbursement of state funds to indigent citizens in need of medical benefits. Oftentimes, a claimant will pursue medical benefits through the department if they qualify. This…
The growing epidemic of chronic opioid use and addiction, and its consequences, permeates the American medical and legal landscape. Since the spike in the use of ubiquitous pain medications in the late 1990s, there has been little actual oversight in the health care industry to regulate the prescription of these highly addicting drugs. In March…
BACKGROUND In 2007 the Colorado Legislature enacted a firefighter cancer presumption statute at Section 8-41-209, C.R.S. The statute created a presumption that certain cancers were caused by work as a firefighter if the individual diagnosed with the cancer worked in the capacity for at least five years. For the cancer to be deemed a compensable…
This is the final piece of a three-part series surveying the history of workers’ compensation. Prior to 1911, an individual residing in the United States, regardless of their state residency, who suffered a workplace injury could only recover damages by utilizing traditional tort based law. In other words, an injured worker would need to sue…
This is a question that I repeatedly see throughout the year and it comes in a variety of contexts. Often times, employers who may have recently terminated an employee, are suddenly posed with a request from that former employee for his/her personnel file. Sometimes, within a workers’ compensation or other employment related claim, the worker…