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The CARES Act Unemployment Expansion, Workers’ Compensation Wage Loss Offset, and Refusing to Return to Work During the Pandemic

Unemployment BenefitsThe Unemployment Offset

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed into law on March 27th, 2020. One feature of the CARES Act is the Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (“PUC”) program, which enhances weekly unemployment benefits administered by individual states by adding an additional $600 weekly supplement to an employee’s maximum weekly unemployment benefit rate. A related program created under the CARES Act, called the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (“PEUC”) program, extends the duration of weekly unemployment benefits by adding an additional thirteen weeks to the maximum recovery period each state otherwise allows. Read More ›

Categories: Case Law Updates, COVID-19 and Workers' Compensation, Employee Benefits

Michigan Legislators Propose Amendment to Workers’ Compensation Law to Benefit Certain COVID-19 Positive Employees

Face MasksAs you will recall, the Director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity promulgated Emergency Rules (“Rules”) on March 30, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As we discussed in a previous blog post, the Rules establish a rebuttable presumption of personal injury for “first response employees” who are diagnosed with COVID-19. Now, the Michigan legislature is getting involved in the issue. Read More ›

Categories: COVID-19 and Workers' Compensation, Legislative Updates

Are Death Benefits Owed When an Employee Dies after Contracting the Coronavirus?

Life Insurance PolicyThe Context

There have been over 40,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Michigan. This figure includes over 4,000 deaths.  We are currently averaging about 1,000 new cases and 100 new deaths per day. Fortunately, the curve is flattening and some areas of the state have seen decreases. Read More ›

Categories: COVID-19 and Workers' Compensation, Employee Benefits, Workers' Compensation

The Anticipated Rise in At-Home Work Injury Claims During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Accident Report on LaptopThe Context

We remain in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. The federal government and all 50 states have declared states of emergency. In an effort to mitigate the rapid spread of the coronavirus, Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a “Stay Home, Stay Safe” Executive Order on March 24, 2020 (EO 2020-21). That Order was rescinded and superseded by another expanded stay-at-home Order, issued on April 8, 2020. (See EO 2020-42). Earlier this morning, the governor issued her most recent Stay Home, Stay Safe Order, extending the stay-at-home decree until May 15, 2020. (See EO 2020-59). Read More ›

Categories: COVID-19 and Workers' Compensation, Workers' Compensation

Psychiatric Workers’ Compensation Disability Claims in a Pandemic Environment

Psychiatric ClaimsThere are scores of workers on the front lines fighting the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic – doctors, nurses, EMTs, paramedics, police officers, firefighters, correctional officers, grocery store cashiers, truck drivers, food delivery workers, and those deemed to be “essential workers,” just to name a few. While many of these workers are accustomed to and trained for emergency situations, the current worldwide health crisis is unprecedented in nature and scope. Brick and mortar hospitals are at capacity in many geographic areas, field hospitals are being constructed, protective equipment is in short supply, and the number of people diagnosed with, and who have died of the highly contagious COVID-19 virus are growing. Little is known about the COVID-19 virus – our knowledge about how it is transmitted, treatment options, and prevention is evolving – but much remains unknown. The media has barraged us with around-the-clock news of the human loss and the economic consequences of the pandemic. Read More ›

Categories: COVID-19 and Workers' Compensation, Legislative Updates

Impact of Executive Orders on Reduction and Termination of Benefits

Couple looking at laptopJack Nolish, the recently appointed Director of the Michigan Workers' Disability Compensation Agency, issued a directive this week limiting employers' ability to terminate or reduce benefits during the period the Stay Home, Stay Safe Executive Order (EO 2020-21) and Executive Order 2020-20 are in effect. To read more on this issue in Alicia Birach’s article, Impact of Executive Orders on Reduction and Termination of Benefits, can be found here.

Categories: COVID-19 and Workers' Compensation, Employee Benefits

Updates to Workers' Compensation Issues Raised by Coronavirus and New Emergency Rules for "First Responders"

Ambulance SpeedingAs you know, Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently declared a State of Emergency on March 10, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The President declared a National Emergency on March 13, 2020. On March 18, 2020, the Director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (“Director”), with the concurrence of the Governor, promulgated a first set of Emergency Rules pertaining to “first response employees.” For more on these updates from the Workers' Comp practice group, see here.

Categories: COVID-19 and Workers' Compensation

Michigan's Emergency Rules Give Personal Injury Presumption to "First Response Employees" with COVID-19

As you know, Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently declared a State of Emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of that response, Governor Whitmer, in conjunction with the Director of the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, Jeff Donofrio, promulgated Emergency Rules (“Rules”) regarding workers’ compensation coverage for certain employees working in the health field, including first responders. We discussed the Rules in an earlier article, and we prepared this article in response to several questions we have received from clients in order to clarify some of the ambiguities in the Rules.

To read further on the Emergency Rules surrounding first responders from Foster Swift's Workers' Comp practice group, see more here.

Categories: COVID-19 and Workers' Compensation

The Workers' Compensation Issues Raised by Coronavirus Pandemic and Michigan's Newly Promulgated Emergency Rules for "First Response Employees"

The Current Context

The novel Coronavirus (“COVID-19”), now classified as a full blown pandemic by the World Health Organization, is projected to continue spreading across Michigan and the United States over the next few months. In less than a month, the global number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has tripled from about 75,000 cases on February 20, 2020, to more than a quarter million cases as of Friday, March 20. The Washington Examiner reports that the death toll surpassed 10,000 last week. The World Health Organization has warned of the likelihood of continued “exponential growth.” For more on the impact of these emergency rules, see here.

Categories: COVID-19 and Workers' Compensation

Is an Employee Injured before December 19, 2011 Obligated to look for Work?

Broken FootThe Supreme Court of Michigan recently issued a decision addressing a plaintiff’s obligation to make a good faith job search where the injury arose prior to the 2011 amendments to the Worker’s Disability Compensation Act. Bell v. City of Saginaw. Plaintiff Bell was injured in the course of his employment on October 16, 2011. Benefits were voluntarily paid from the date of injury until his return to work. He subsequently went back off when he failed his fitness for duty physical. Workers’ compensation benefits were not reinstated and plaintiff filed suit. To read more about this case and its implications, see full article here.

Categories: Case Law Updates, Workers' Compensation