Pot, Porn, Testicles, Shootings, Dog Biscuits, & More: 2022 Cases Saw it All

Stuart, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) -- I have a confession to make: My favorite thing about workers' compensation is the case law. On the one hand, the policy wonk in me loves the "dry" cases that just go through facts and figures and arrive at a decision on what benefits a worker is or isn't due. On the other hand, the storyteller in me looks forward to those cases where something unexpected happens, everyone ends up being safe, and there's an important lesson to take away.

So, it can be tough to look back on a year's worth of cases and pick out the "best" ones. And unlike when you try to decide who's your favorite kid, you can't go by report cards and which one keeps their room the cleanest. Nonetheless, we've picked 12 we like here at WorkersCompensation.com -- one from each month of 2022. If you have any you'd like to add, please feel free to use the comment section or head over to either our LinkedIn page or Twitter feed. We want to hear from you!

January 

National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Nos. 21A244, 21A247 (U.S. 01/13/22) (Top Court: Vaccine Mandate went Beyond OSHA's Authority and Supreme Court Splits Decisions on Biden Administration ETS)

What Happened: In striking down the vaccine mandate on workplaces that emerged in 2021, the SCOTUS majority highlighted several ways OSHA was restricted from requiring the jab, highlighting the role of Congress and what the Occupational Safety and Health Act allows OSHA to do.

What Makes it Important: The Court struck down OSHA's Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) that would have required companies with at least 100 employees to require their employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or undergo weekly testing and wear masks. The Court's conservative justices prevailed in ruling that the administration overstepped its authority by seeking to impose the ETS.

February

Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21 v. Waardal, No. 750 C.D. 2021 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 01/03/22) (School District Can't Take UC Credit for Teacher's CARES Act Payments)

What Happened: In 2017, a substitute teacher experienced a work-related injury during the course and scope of her employment, and the district accepted liability. In March 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic hit, the district laid off the teacher, at which point she began collecting weekly unemployment benefits as well as pandemic compensation made available through the CARES Act.

The teacher sought a reinstatement of her total disability benefits, prompting the district to seek a credit for benefits it paid on the teacher's behalf in the amount of the weekly pandemic compensation the teacher received under the CARES Act.

What Makes it Important: The court agreed with he WCJ and WCAB that pandemic compensation under the CARES Act wasn't the same thing as state unemployment compensation. While the law sought to prevent employers from having to pay duplicate benefits for the same loss of earnings, disallowing a credit for pandemic compensation paid for by the federal government did not put an employer in the position of paying duplicate benefits.

March

Thompson v. City of Tualatin, No. 3:21-cv-01587-MO (D. Or. 03/11/22) (What Do You Think: Did Mask Requirement Raise 'Regarded As' Claim under ADA?)

What Happened: A worker who was terminated for failing to comply with her employer's vaccination requirement could not base an ADA "regarded as" claim on the employer's mask mandate.

What Makes it Important: According to the court, the employee could not establish a “regarded as” claim attached to COVID-19 because “the vast majority of cases of COVID-19 last fewer than 20 days,” meaning that, in the court's view, COVID-19 was a “transitory and minor” impairment, since it had an expected duration of six months or less. Thus, it was outside of "regarded as" coverage under the law.

April

Griffith v. CMR Construction & Maintenance Resources, No. 54,443-WCA (La. Ct. App. 04/13/22) (Worker's Marijuana Use Before Injury Supplies Employer with Intoxication Presumption)

What Happened: A foreman for a construction company experienced “numerous” broken bones and internal injuries when he fell 30 feet from the roof of an airplane hangar.

What Makes it Important: Test results showed a level of cannabinoids that was more than eight times the threshold to exclude the possibility of passive inhalation of marijuana and thus the state's presumption of intoxication applied, defeating the foreman's claim.

May

Milteer v. Navaro County, No. 3:21-CV-2941-D (N.D. Tex. 05/03/22) (Court Finds PTSD, 'Hearing Loss' Insufficient for ADA Coverage, Reasonable Accommodations)

What Happened: A federal district court determined that a worker's PTSD was not enough to show that he had a disability that would entitle him to a reasonable accommodation at work.

What Makes it Important: Even though the regulations that implement the ADA Amendments Act maintain that  “it should easily be concluded that” post-traumatic stress disorder substantially limits the major life activity of brain function, the court didn't budge in rejecting the worker's case.

Schneider v. Harmon Solutions Group LLC, No. 21-2813 (7th Cir. 06/23/22, unpublished) (Porn, Prostitution Messages, not Disability, Caused Employee's Termination)

What Happened: An employee was terminated after, among other things, the employee had inappropriate contact with a coworker and used the company's instant messaging service to ask the coworker about pornography and prostitution. The employee sued for disability discrimination.

What Makes it Important: The court ruled against the employee, holding that he did not establish that his disability was the "but for" reason for his termination.

July

Weed v. Spraying Sys., Co., No. 21-2813 (D. N.H. 07/05/22) (Threat to Squeeze Worker's Testicle Helps Drive Retaliation Case to Trial)

What Happened: When a worker came back to the job after taking FMLA leave, his supervisor was irate that he had been out so long and threatened to "grab his swollen testicle and squeeze it.” 

What Makes it Important: The court held that a reasonable jury could find that the supervisor's behavior was motivated by retaliatory animus regarding the inspector's request for FMLA leave.

August

Revels v. Costco, No. 0002-22-2 (Va. Ct. App. 08/30/22, unpublished) (Video Showing Costco Worker Walking Mile, Assisting Grandkids Supports Ending Benefits)

What Happened: Costco hired private investigators to follow the and record the worker, who had been awarded temporary total disability benefits. The investigators' videos depicted the worker driving and walking without difficulty and assisting two of her grandchildren into her car. Investigators also recorded the worker walking for one mile without difficulty.

What Makes it Important: Thanks to “credible, reasonable, and uncontradicted” medical evidence that the worker could perform her pre-injury duties without restrictions, her TTD benefits were terminated.

September

Matter of Young v. DiNapoli, No. 533976 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. App. Div. 09/01/22) (Court Officer's Claim Slips up due to Misstep, not Wet Floor)

What Happened: A court officer slipped and fell at work.

What Makes it Important: The officer was not entitled to disability retirement benefits because falling while running to the scene of an incident was something that was part of the officer's job.

October

CRST Int'l. v. Industrial Commission of Arizona, No. 1 CA-IC 21-0049 (Ariz. Ct. App. 10/06/22) (What Do You Think: Was Trucker's Stop for Dog Biscuits in Course of Employment?)

What Happened: A truck driver hit his head and lost consciousness while making a stop to get dog biscuits during his work rounds.

What Makes it Important: While the trucker was on a personal errand when he hit his head, he didn't substantially deviate from his employment at the time of the injury. Thus, he was entitled to benefits.

November

Berks Area Reg'l Transp. Auth. v. Katzenmoyer, No. 1058 C.D. 2021 (Pa. Comm'w Ct. 11/08/22) (What Do You Think: Was Being Shot at 'Abnormal Working Condition' for City Bus Driver?)

What Happened: A bus driver was involved in two on-the-job shootings and developed PTSD as a result.

What Makes it Important: The court held that while the driver had recieved training for emergency situations, witnessing shootings and being shot at weren't ordinary working conditions, and thus she was entitled to workers' compensation benefits.

December

Lovato v. Case, 2022 WY 151 (Dec. 1, 2022) (Driver Doesn't Face Tort Liability for Running Over Coworker with Concrete Truck)

What Happened: A concrete truck driver ran over a coworker on a job site while, possibly, using his phone to talk to someone and/or text his girlfriend.

What Makes it Important: While you might wonder how this "dude" hit a 6-foot tall man carrying items, the court determined that it wasn't intentional within the meaning of the law, and so the coworker couldn't sue the driver under a tort theory. Instead, the injured worker was left with workers' compensation as his only remedy.

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