A Word to the Wise
The workplace. Where is it and what are its boundaries? Of course, it is a location, the place where an employee reports to work and performs services. It also clearly includes a place away from the work site where the employee is assigned to or where the employee performs services. Further, for the telecommuter, a home, or at least certain places in the home, may be considered a work site for purposes of employer liability.
Responding to SARS
But for the war in Iraq, the outbreak of SARS would undoubtedly have been the lead news story for the first half of 2003. Thousands of people have been infected to date, and there have been a number of fatalities from this new illness. It is apparently highly contagious (under at least some circumstances) and potentially deadly.
FMLA Ruled Applicable to State Workers
In a somewhat surprising 6-3 decision written by Chief Justice Rehnquist, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Congress had abrogated the states' Eleventh Amendment immunity when it enacted the Family Medical Leave Act and that therefore, state workers are entitled to the protection of that statute. In so ruling, the Court characterized Congress' goals in enacting the FMLA as protecting against gender-based discrimination in the workplace and eliminating stereotypes related to child-rearing and family care issues. As such, the Court concluded that challenges to the constitutionality of the FMLA warranted heightened scrutiny.
Class Action Certified for Wage Claim Under State Law
A class action brought on behalf of 15,000 present and former members of Bloomingdale's commissioned sales force was certified under New York Labor Law '193 based on a claim that Bloomingdale's inappropriately made deductions from the commissions credited to the sales force for merchandise returned by customers. <i>Jacobs v. Bloomingdale's, Inc.</i> Index No. 17283/96 (Sup. Ct. Queens Co. 5/03) (Taylor, J.S.C.)
Verdicts
Recent cases of importance to your practice.
State News
Interesting cases from around the country.
Why the <i>Mejia </i>Opinion Is Troubling
Contrary to the <i>Mejia</i> court's analysis, patients do not generally choose an emergency room in reliance on any belief about the doctors' employment or agency relationship with the hospital. They may choose the hospital based on terms of their insurance plan, or the hospital's geographic location. But nobody can seriously suggest that if a patient were confronted with a neon sign in the hospital waiting room declaring the doctors to be independent contractors whose conduct is not attributable to the hospital, he or she would turn around and look elsewhere to find a hospital with employee doctors.
Should You Take the Case?
As the federal government and more and more states move toward capping non-economic damages in medical-malpractice actions, actual economic damages take on a new importance: Will economic damages by themselves, absent a large award for pain and suffering, justify taking a case that may cost $100,000 or more to present?
'Fear of Cancer': A Med Mal Nightmare?
Can fear of cancer be litigated? And if so, what is the potential impact on the med mal community? On March 10 the U.S. Supreme Court announced a decision in <i>Norfolk and Western Railway Co. v. Ayers</i>, 123 S.Ct. 1210 (2003), in which it ruled by a five to four vote that railway workers who suffer from asbestosis would be allowed to recover damages for fear of asbestos-related cancer. Rail-worker plaintiffs would still bear the burden of proof that their fear was 'genuine and serious,' but the Supreme Court did not specify how such evidence would be demonstrated or refuted. This article considers whether the <i>Ayers decision</i> could extend to medical malpractice litigation.
