2024 NEBRASKA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BURIAL BENEFIT INCREASE
When employees die as a result of a work-related injury, their family members may be entitled to death benefits, including burial expenses, under the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act. Effective July 1, 2024, the burial benefit under the Nebraska Workers’...
Baylor Evnen Wolfe & Tannehill, LLP and O’Neill Heinrich Damkroger Bergmeyer & Shultz, PC, LLO Announce Exciting News
Greetings Clients and Friends: We are thrilled to share more exciting news with you: Baylor Evnen Wolfe & Tannehill, LLP is growing again! This summer, Tim O'Neill, Chris Heinrich, and Rick Damkroger, along with their teams, will join our Firm. This marks another...
BILATERAL SHOULDER INJURIES HELD TO BE TWO SEPARATE SCHEDULED MEMBER INJURIES IN IOWA
On May 8, 2024, the Iowa Court of Appeals found that bilateral shoulder injuries are not compensated under the catchall provision and are, instead, two separate scheduled member injuries. In Nordstrom v. Pamela Cramer, the Iowa Court of Appeals found that injuries to...
NEBRASKA SUPREME COURT QUESTIONS WHETHER COVID-19 IS AN ORDINARY DISEASE OF LIFE
In the recent decision Thiele v. Select Medical Corp., the Nebraska Supreme Court addressed the narrow issue whether COVID-19 is an “ordinary disease of life to which the general public is exposed,” pursuant to the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act. The employee was...
BRYNNE HOLSTEN PUHL APPOINTED TO NEBRASKA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION COURT
On April 25, 2024, Governor Jim Pillen announced the appointment of Brynne Holsten Puhl of Lincoln to Nebraska’s Workers’ Compensation Court. The vacancy on the Court was due to the retirement of Judge James R. Coe. The Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court is composed...
NON-COMPETES BANNED BY NEW FTC FINAL RULE
The Federal Trade Commission has released its much-anticipated Final Rule that bans most non-compete agreements across the United States. The Final Rule generally applies to non-compete provisions or agreements that prohibit a worker—whether an employee or independent...
SALARY THRESHOLD INCREASED FOR OVERTIME EXEMPTIONS
The Department of Labor released its Final Rule that raises the salary threshold for employees to be exempt from overtime requirements as an Executive, Administrative, or Professional under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Under these “white collar” exemptions, overtime...
BEWT LEADS SUCCESSFUL LEGISLATIVE EFFORT TO PROTECT EMPLOYERS FROM UNINTENDED CLAIMS
Yesterday the Nebraska Unicameral gave final approval of a legislative bill which will protect employers and insurers from claims for significant benefits that were never intended to exist. Drafted by Dallas Jones and Eric Sutton for Nebraskans for Workers’...
SUPREME COURT RULES ON SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY UNDER PSTCA
In Simpson v. Lincoln Public Schools, a former LPS employee sued the District for wrongful discharge alleging that she was terminated because she filed a Workers’ Compensation claim. On appeal, the Nebraska Supreme Court offered a detailed analysis that, among other...
MAJOR CHANGES IN IOWA FOR HOW MULTIPLE SCHEDULED MEMBER INJURIES ARE COMPENSATED
On March 29, 2024, Iowa’s Supreme Court handed down an opinion in Anderson v. Bridgestone Americas, Inc. The seminal issue in the case had to do with how to compensate an employee who sustained both an arm and shoulder injury. Under the July 1, 2017 changes to the...