Articles Posted in Workers’ Compensation

Starting April 1, 2015, the state of Massachusetts will extend employment protections to domestic workers under the “Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights.” The law will clarify that these workers are also protected under the workers’ compensation and unemployment statutes.

The legislation has to be followed by any entity or person that employs a domestic worker in a Massachusetts household-it doesn’t matter if the worker “lives in.” “Domestic worker” may apply to housekeepers, nannies, house managers, house cleaners, and those who do laundry, cook, or act as home companions or caretakers. Registered or licensed staff working with a placement or employment agency and casual babysitters are not covered, nor are individuals who work with seniors or the disabled under the state’s personal attendant program.

Among the new rights given to domestic workers under the bill: protection from unlawful harassment, guaranteed leaves of absence for adoption or childbirth under the state’s Maternity Leave Act, and protections from retaliation for complaining about work hours or wages. Rights have also been issued to domestic worker as they pertain to receiving notice about said rights, what consists of working time, guaranteed time off after working a full work week, the right to privacy, protection from excessive wage deductions for the costs of lodging, beverage, or food, as well as the right to request and dispute written evaluations. Domestic workers that are terminated from an employer’s household without cause have a right to written notice and receive at least 30 days of lodging or two weeks pay.

With snow already arriving in certain areas of the state, now is a good time to talk about how Massachusetts slip and fall accidents on ice and snow can easily cause injuries to workers on the job. The risks of injury is high enough that, according to workers’ compensation carriers United Heartland andAccident Fund Insurance Company of America, this type of accident comprises close to one third of all work injury claims in the Midwest that require a worker take time off work. That said, in 2013 there were also workers who were involved in slip and fall accidents in other regions undergoing icy conditions in the U.S.

In Massachusetts, please contact our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers if you were involved in a slip and fall accident while working. It is important that you file your work injury claim with your employer right away. Unfortunately, there may be challenges in getting your compensation on time or receiving your compensation at all, which is why you want to work with an experienced Massachusetts work injury law firm that can help you while protecting your rights.

The United Heartland and Accident Fund are offering the following suggestions to minimize the chance of a slip and fall work accident:

According to a study of workers’ compensation claims, from 2010 to 2012, doctors in Massachusetts were likely to prescribe the strongest painkillers for injuries sustained on the job more often than physicians in other states. The Workers Compensation Research Institute conducted the study, which examined workers’ nonsurgical claims involving over seven days of time lost from work. The group looked at employee claims in twenty-five states.

Schedule II drugs include the strongest narcotics. In addition to being the most potent narcotic they carry the highest risk for addiction and abuse. Prescription opiate addicts may even switch to heroin.

The researchers did not provide a reason reason why Massachusetts physicians were the ones prescribing the most drugs to injured workers. The state even has a number of laws in place to prevent over-prescription of opiates. Doctors can’t dispense drugs from their offices, which means profit is not a motivation. The study did, however, note that there was more opiate prescribing going on in the Northeastern part of the U.S.