HOW TO REPORT AN ALABAMA COMPANY FOR UNSAFE WORKING CONDITIONS

It is the objective of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (commonly known as OSHA) to ensure that working conditions across the country are safe, but not every warehouse and factory is full of OSHA investigators to double check that every guideline is met with compliance. In a shocking statistic, OSHA reported that 5,250 workers died on the job in 2018. That is the equivalent of over 100 deaths a week, or 14 deaths happening every day. Of these deaths, 1 in every 5 occurred in the field of construction.[1] These numbers are the horrifying truth. Whether the cause of these tragedies is freak accident or a company compromising in the name of maximized profits, not every ‘i’ can be dotted and ‘t’ crossed.

Thankfully, OSHA provides a safe and anonymous way to report your company should you find the conditions of your employment result in situations that jeopardize your safety or the safety of your co-workers. Employees have the option of filing an online complaint form that will be reviewed by an OSHA employee. Just be sure to check the box asking that your name be withheld from your employing company if you wish to remain anonymous.

As a first step when met with conditions that are not immediately life-threatening, an employee should attempt to first bring the hazardous conditions to the attention of his immediate supervisor. If a situation or working condition is so severe as to make you fear for your imminent safety, and there is not sufficient time to warn your superiors, you have the legal right to refuse to work or perform tasks associated with the unsafe condition. [2] Whichever route you choose to report the safety conditions at your job, the goal is to always bring the conditions back into keeping with OSHA guidelines and prevent injury to yourself or others.

Here are a few examples of what to look out for on the job to avoid injury:

• Lack of appropriate safety equipment
• Missing safety guards on machinery
• Lack of/insufficient employee training
• Malfunctioning equipment
• Unaddressed maintenance issues
• Blocked, wet, and slippery walkways
• Blocked safety exits[3]

It is understandably a serious concern that reporting negligently maintained working conditions could result in retaliation from an employer. However, OSHA accepts reports of incidences of such behavior within one month of the incident, as this is against federal and state law. Retaliation includes acts such as demotion, firing, disciplinary action, denying benefits, and other forms of punishment.[4] These incidences can be filed online here. As Alabama follows the federal OSHA plan, all complaints of retaliation may be made directly to OSHA.

Alabama has two OSHA offices:

 

Birmingham area office	Mobile area office
Medical Forum Building	1141 Montlimar Drive,
950 22nd Street North,	Suite 1006,
Room 1050
Mobile, AL 36609	Birmingham, AL 35203
(251) 441-6131	(205) 731-1534

If you are hurt on the job due to unsafe working conditions, seek legal counsel, as you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.

As we have since 1967, we will continue to protect the legal rights of our clients – those who are hurt on the job while working for Alabama employers.  If you have been injured on the job and want to learn your rights, please consider contacting the Nomberg Law Firm. Our office number is 205-255-1270 and website www.nomberglaw.com. Our office is located in Birmingham, Alabama. We handle cases throughout our great State.

 

[1] https://www.osha.gov/data/commonstats.

[2] https://www.osha.gov/workers/.

[3] https://www.gerberholderlaw.com/atlanta-workers-compensation/report-unsafe-working-conditions/?fbclid=IwAR2q7Yv9BtmPrFU7DFJ0fLBCaOYZZIVtkCVWtDexOagrJyA2oEqdcccUD4c.

[4] https://www.oshaeducationcenter.com/articles/reporting-labor-violations/.

 

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Bernard D. Nomberg has been a lawyer for more than 20 years. Bernard has earned an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell’s peer-review rating. In 2019, Bernard was named a Super Lawyer for the 7th year in a row.

from The Nomberg Law Firm – Birmingham Workers' Compensation & Personal Injury Lawyers https://www.nomberglaw.com/blog/how-to-report-an-alabama-company-for-unsafe-working-conditions/

THE ALABAMA WORK COMP ACT GETS YOU COMING AND GOING

From an outsider’s perspective, the road from a workplace injury to compensation provided by an employer seems black and white. If someone gets hurt at work, they should be paid work comp benefits. Right? In reality, this path involves more hurdles and takes unexpected turns.

Just because an injury occurs in the workplace doesn’t always mean an employee

 will be awarded workers’ compensation for that injury.

In Alabama, to be compensable an employee’s injury must have a causal relationship to the working conditions of the employee’s job performance.[1] This means that in order for an employee to recover, it must be shown that an occupational hazard is what caused the employee’s injury. It must also be shown that the conditions of an employee’s workplace put the worker at greater risk of injury (i.e., driving a forklift in a warehouse or climbing trees for forestry removal) compared to circumstances existing outside of the employment (i.e., mowing the grass at home or shopping at the mall). In either instance, a purely personal cause of an injury is not a recoverable basis under this rule.

At first glance, this requirement seems to set a low bar for recoverable injuries. In application, however, this doctrine bars many claims. One example of this is based on the aptly named “coming and going rule.” Under this rule, an injury occurring while an employee is traveling to or from work does not result in a compensable claim for workers’ compensation.[2] Therefore, even though the worker may be traveling to his job to perform the duties set out by his employment, his actions do not yet fall under the protective umbrella of recovery.

Even with the daunting reality sinking in that being injured at work does not always equal compensation for growing medical costs, there are exceptions to this doctrine that carve out comfort. Such exceptions include instances where the employer pays the injured employee’s travel expenses, when the injury is sustained on the employer’s property, and when an employee  crosses a public street from a parking lot owned by his employer.[3] The application of an exception to the coming and going rule is determined on a case by case basis because it depends heavily on the facts surrounding the injury. In one case, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals found that a workers’ compensation claim was not barred even though the employee was injured while driving home because the employer encouraged employees to finish daily duties at home, the injury occurred while the employee was still on the clock, and the employer allowed employees to run personal errands while technically on the job.[4]

Even though the coming and going rule has exceptions, these exceptions are not universally applied. It is not guaranteed that every instance of an employee crossing a street when leaving company property will result in compensation. Nor is it a certainty that an employee receiving a traveling stipend is grounds for employer liability. One example of a case that appeared on its face to meet an exception yet did not in application is one involving an injury in the company parking lot. A nursing student, who worked for the hospital owning the parking lot as a patient care assistant, fell in the parking lot while attending a class at the hospital. She had just completed a shift at the hospital and began a class being held at the hospital when she left class to retrieve a book from her car. This is when she sustained the injury. The exception to the coming and going rule did not apply to the injured student’s case because her injury was not sustained while in her employee capacity. In the eyes of the appellate court, because the injury was sustained after the nursing student made the shift from employee to student (because she began class before going out to the parking lot), the hospital, her employer, was not on the line to pay the nursing student workers’ compensation. The court noted that for an exception to apply, and therefore compensation to be awarded, the employee needed to be injured while acting in a manner incidental or natural to the work she was hired to perform.[5]

Just because you were not at work when an injury occurred does not always leave you without a cause of action. Likewise, even though the exception to the coming and going rule is narrowly applied, this does not mean all claims are pointless. Always look to the circumstances of your injury for the potential of an exception.

Some videos related to this topic:

• Are snake bites, spider bites or wasp stings at work covered under work comp?
• I was bitten by a snake while at work! Am I eligible for work comp benefits?
• I was involved in an automobile accident while driving for my employer.
• What is the idiopathic defense in an Alabama Workers’ Compensation Claim?

As we have since 1967, we will continue to protect the legal rights of our clients – those who are hurt on the job while working for Alabama employers.  If you have been injured on the job and want to learn your rights, please consider contacting the Nomberg Law Firm. Our office number is 205-930-6900 and website www.nomberglaw.com. Our office is located in Birmingham, Alabama. We handle cases throughout our great State.

 

[1] Ex Parte Patton, 77 So. 3d 591 (Ala. 2011).

[2] https://www.wmalabamalaw.com/employment-law-blog/2016/july/what-is-the-coming-and-going-rule-/.

[3] https://lgwmlaw.com/news-media/LIMITATIONS-ON-EXCEPTIONS-TO-THE-COMING-AND-GOING-RULE/.

[4] Hospice Family Care v. Allen, 218 So. 3d 1222 (Ala. Civ. App. 2016).

[5] McDuffie v. Medical Center Enterprise, 2012 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 249 (Ala. Civ. App. Sept. 14, 2012).

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Bernard D. Nomberg has been a lawyer for more than 20 years. Bernard has earned an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell’s peer-review rating. In 2019, Bernard was named a Super Lawyer for the 7th year in a row.

from The Nomberg Law Firm – Birmingham Workers' Compensation & Personal Injury Lawyers https://www.nomberglaw.com/blog/alabama-work-comp-act/

WHOSE WILL IS IT?

When you hear the phrase “at-will” employment, it’s only natural to think one of two things: every working relationship is “at-will” because all the parties involved chose to be there, or, I don’t actually want to work at all; give me a white sand beach and that’s where my will wants to be. Regardless of what you may think of the term, or how it may apply to you and the job you have, for Alabama employees it is important to know exactly how to classify your working situation. It can make all the difference in your rights in the workplace.

You’ve probably heard this phrase thrown around the most in the context of the government lately when the news broadcasters say an official “serves at the pleasure of the president.” Well, think of yourself, the employee, as the official and your boss, the employer, as the president. An “at-will” employee is one who works, and potentially ceases to work, at the pleasure, or discretion, of the employer. An employee can be fired for any or no reason at all.

It is presumed that this kind of working relationship exists unless there is contrary evidence, such as a contract stating other parameters regarding employment. Otherwise, you can usually find statements categorizing your employment as at-will in the application you filled out to obtain the position or in your employee handbook. It is a rare occasion that an employer leaves this relationship’s classification open to interpretation. While this description also indicates that an employee can leave his position if ever he chooses for any reason he sees fit, this distinction doesn’t immediately bring the sense of stability or empowerment that an employee imagines his employer to have in this type of relationship. The state of Alabama recognizes this relationship as fair, but for you, the employee, to feel safe in a workforce based on this dynamic, it’s important to know your rights and any exceptions that can swing the pendulum back in your favor.[1]

Exceptions exist to what is referred to in the legal community as the at-will employment doctrine. Such exceptions include termination for seeking workers’ compensation benefits, retaliation, and discrimination.[2][3] In Alabama, employers cannot fire solely because an employee seeks workers’ compensation benefits – this is a protection under the Alabama Workers’ Compensation Act.  If an employee is fired because he files a claim or an employer believes an employee will file such claim, this constitutes wrongful termination under the law and an employee is protected from this act. Likewise, if an employee is fired for retaliatory reasons, an example of which would be a termination in response to complaint of sexual harassment or an employee’s refusal to commit illegal activities at the request of the employer, he is entitled to protection again because this constitutes wrongful termination. Discrimination against age, race, gender, religion, national origin, and disability is also grounds for wrongful termination. An Alabama employee is protected by federal law if fired for such a reason.

As an employee in Alabama, it is important to know your rights in an “at-will” employment relationship and to recognize that you are not always at the mercy of the whims of your employer. Seek aid if you suspect that you lost your job by means of wrongful termination.

 

For related articles:

• Employee or Independent Contractor? http://bit.ly/371YcxB
• Employees and the Gig Economy. http://bit.ly/2PCCWs1
• You Mean That My Employer Can Read My Tweets? And Fire Me After Reading My Tweets? What Do My Tweets Have To Do With My Job???!! http://bit.ly/2tBZXmJ

As we have since 1967, we will continue to protect the legal rights of our clients – those who are hurt on the job while working for Alabama employers.  If you have been injured on the job and want to learn your rights, please consider contacting the Nomberg Law Firm. Our office number is 205-395-0532 and website www.NombergLaw.com. Our office is located in Birmingham, Alabama. We handle cases throughout our great State.

 

[1] Ex Parte Moulton, 116 So. 3d 1119, 1134 (Ala. 2013).

[2] Tyson Foods, Inc. v. McCollum, 881 So. 2d 976, 978 (Ala. 2003); Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consol. v. Hollander, 885 So. 2d 125, 130 (Ala. 2003); Willmore-Cochran v. Wal-Mart Associates, Inc., 919 F. Supp. 2d 1222, 1239 (N.D. Ala. 2013).

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Bernard D. Nomberg has been a lawyer for more than 20 years. Bernard has earned an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell’s peer-review rating. In 2018, Bernard was named a Super Lawyer for the 6th year in a row and he was recognized as one of the Top 50 Lawyers in Alabama.

from The Nomberg Law Firm – Birmingham Workers' Compensation & Personal Injury Lawyers https://www.nomberglaw.com/blog/at-will-employment-state/

IDENTITY THEFT – DON’T BECOME A VICTIM

Photo cred: https://www.debt.org/credit/identity-theft/

There is an app for almost everything – grocery shopping  – pet sitting  – tracking steps you have taken and storing your heart rate information – so much of our private information is at the mercy of third parties. We just hope that their security measures are enough to stop hackers. But it’s not always enough to prevent identify theft. Identity theft is more prominent than ever before.

Recently, an app that pays you for not texting and driving was the source of information for an identity thief for a sixteen year old child. The allure of the app for her was that it reportedly pays five (5) cents per mile for not texting while driving, and two (2) cents per mile that the driver does not text and drive for the passengers. [1]  The app targets primarily teenagers and young adults ages 16-25.[2] Cash for being safe is great motivator for teens. They need the money and assume their parents would agree this is a good idea. However, this is not always the case!

This teen signed up on the app (in like two minutes flat!) and she quickly discovered that her license was already in use.  She had become a victim of identity theft.  Her information was already being used on the app to earn someone else money using her name and drivers’ license number. Yikes!

How should this teenager and her parents handle this breach of her identity?

Thankfully, there are several things that should be done in a timely manner. First, a cease and desist letter must be sent to the company that runs the app. Whether hiring a lawyer to handle this depends on your level of comfort and need for one. Second, contact the credit reporting agencies to notify them of the problem. Third, consider signing up for a paid identify protection service such as Identity Guard, Identity Defense, myFico, LifeLock, etc.³

Victims of identity theft also have protections under the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act. ⁴ The Act makes it a crime, under certain circumstances, for a person to knowingly and without lawful authority produce an identification document, authentication feature, or a false identification document; or knowingly possess an identification document (other than one issued lawfully for the use of the possessor), authentication feature, or a false identification document, with the intent that the document or feature be used to defraud the United States.

The section of the Act that would pertain more to the app in this particular scenario states “It is also a crime if a person knowingly transfers, possesses, or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, or in connection with, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable state or local law or knowingly traffics in false authentication features for use in false identification documents, document-making implements, or means of identification”.  The app in this case “transferred, without lawful authority, a means of identifications of another person in connection with unlawful activity” and, as the statutory language tells us, this violates federal and local law.⁴

There are many other ways to reduce the risk of identity theft. Here are some ways to reduce your risk of becoming a victim of identity theft: 5

• Do not give out personal information to anyone. Confirm who they are first
• Avoid clicking links online you’re unsure about
• Shred documents with any personal/banking information on it
• Don’t keep your social security card on you, it could get stolen along with your wallet/purse
• Only carry credit cards you use on a daily basis
• Protect your mailbox and where your packages are delivered. You can get extra protection through the deliverer/carrier.
• Monitor your online accounts with any personal/sensitive information on them
• Create strong/creative passwords online
• Use two factor authentication (requires second piece of proof of identification)
• Avoid using public Wi-fi when dealing with sensitive information
• Check your credit report regularly and check for suspicious activity
• Cut up old credit cards
• Only shop online with trusted sites and consider using Paypal or another secure payment system
• Don’t over-share on social network
• Don’t respond to unsolicited requests
• Consider freezing or locking your credit
• Monitor all your billing cycles
• Implement biometric options (fingerprint, handprint, eye scan, facial recognition)
• Keep up with latest in identity theft, educate yourself
• Consider an identity theft protection service

What Should You Do If You Have Your Driver’s License Stolen?

Here are a few suggestions:

• Immediately contact police to report the theft.
• Contact the DMV to report the stolen license. They will tell you how to proceed to replace your license and what to do about driving until it is replaced.
• Put a freeze on your credit. Your driver’s license number plus all the other information on the license provides enough information for a thief to open accounts in your name.
• Continue to monitor your accounts. That includes requesting a copy of your official driving record to make sure a thief did not use your driver’s license number to cover their traffic violations and signing up for a background check (the police or your bank should be able to recommend a reputable company). Do this periodically to make sure all is clear.
• Change the locks on your doors (after all, since they have your license, they have your address).

For more information on identity theft and credit reporting issues, click the link below to check out our discussion with attorney Whitney Seals.  http://bit.ly/33MTiTU

 

As we have since 1967, we will continue to protect the legal rights of our clients – those who are hurt on the job while working for Alabama employers.  If you have been injured on the job and want to learn your rights, please consider contacting the Nomberg Law Firm. Our office number is 205-930-6900 and website www.NombergLaw.com. Our office is located in Birmingham, Alabama. We handle cases throughout our great State.

 

Sources:

[1] https://onmyway.com/blog/

[2] https://onmyway.com/blog/

[3]  https://www.reviews.com/identity-theft-protection-services/

4 http://bit.ly/2q8CPuo

[5]§ 22:2.Federal Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act, Info. Security & Privacy: A Guide to Fed & State Law & Compliance § 22:2

 

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Bernard D. Nomberg has been a lawyer for more than 20 years. Bernard has earned an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell’s peer-review rating. In 2018, Bernard was named a Super Lawyer for the 6th year in a row and he was recognized as one of the Top 50 Lawyers in Alabama.

from The Nomberg Law Firm – Birmingham Workers' Compensation & Personal Injury Lawyers https://www.nomberglaw.com/blog/identity-theft-dont-become-a-victim/

THIRD-PARTY LIABILITY COULD MEAN MORE MONEY

by Bernard D. Nomberg, Partner, The Nomberg Law Firm

[1]

Suffering an injury while at work does not always mean paid time off or an easy reduction in your workload while on the job. Alabama laws dealing with injured workers fall short in most instances in fully protecting their rights. Often, it means taking a hit to your bank account on top of the bodily pain. But what if it was possible to increase the maximum compensation you receive for the injury you didn’t ask for?

In Alabama, there is a law that allows for an injured employee to recover payment for both workers’ compensation benefits as well as monetary damages.[2] According to the law, if a worker’s injury is suffered while on the job but due to the negligence of a third party (not a co-worker or an employer), a separate action in tort can be brought in addition to the benefits owed the employee. A tort is a wrongful act or an infringement of a right (other than under contract) leading to civil legal liability.³

Think of it this way. You, the injured worker, are the first party, and your employer is the second party. When neither of these people are at fault, that is when you look to the third-party for a tort claim. Some common examples of third-party liability include:

• Car accidents while on the job: a driver making deliveries, running errands for your boss, or driving between work sites.
• Working off-site on someone else’s property when you sustain an injury from poorly maintained and hazardous conditions such as a slip-and-fall accident.
• An injury from a tool, machine, or piece of equipment that was defectively designed.
• Being injured on your own job site by an independent contractor.

Each of these examples is just one of many ways when liability for your injury is caused by someone or something outside of your employer’s control. If the circumstances leading up to your injury sound similar to this, you could have a case where suit against a third-party is possible.

The reason this matters at all for those injured on the job is because it increases the money paid to the employee. Workers’ compensation benefits do not cover lost wages, mental pain or anguish, and they definitely do not include punitive damages. But a tort action provides compensation for these very things, which, when added to benefits paid by the employer, can make your injury seem a little more bearable after all.

As we have since 1967, we will continue to protect the legal rights of our clients – those who are hurt on the job while working for Alabama employers.  If you have been injured on the job and want to learn your rights, please consider contacting the Nomberg Law Firm. Our office number is 205-930-6900 and website www.NombergLaw.com. Our office is located in Birmingham, Alabama. We handle cases throughout our great State.

 

Sources:

[1] Photo cred: https://lawsoup.org/legal-guides/injuries/.

[2] Ala. Code § 25-5-11 (2018).

³ https://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=2137

Bernard D. Nomberg has been a lawyer for more than 20 years. Bernard has earned an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell’s peer-review rating. In 2018, Bernard was named a Super Lawyer for the 6th year in a row and he was recognized as one of the Top 50 Lawyers in Alabama.

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from The Nomberg Law Firm – Birmingham Workers' Compensation & Personal Injury Lawyers https://www.nomberglaw.com/blog/third-party-liability-could-mean-more-money/

WHY YOU WILL NOT RETIRE OFF YOUR ALABAMA WORK COMP CASE

by Bernard D. Nomberg, Partner, The Nomberg Law Firm

Patrick T. Fallon for ProPublica

It is normal to expect you should be adequately compensated after being injured on the job and in fact, you really should be adequately compensated. But the reality is that Alabama’s workers’ compensation laws¹ are antiquated (“modernized” in 1992) and not favorable to injured employees. That is why a lot of employees who go to an attorney after being injured on the job find themselves feeling very let down when they discover the actual compensation they will end up receiving and how long the process can take. A problem that leads to this result is how often most people are misled by advertisements seen on billboards and television commercials promising millions of dollars in compensation. It is unrealistic and does not align with the current Alabama workers’ compensation laws.

Since 1985, a scheduled member injury such as a finger, hand or foot, pursuant to Alabama Code §25-5-68, caps recovery of permanent partial disability benefits to injured workers to a maximum of $220 per week. This is the lowest amount in the country.² Under Alabama Code §25-5-57(a)(3)g., temporary total disability benefits are two-thirds of a workers’ average weekly wage, but cannot exceed a maximum amount set by law each year. As of July 1, 2019, the maximum benefit is $892 per week. This cap only kicks in if the annual salary is around $65,000 or more.  In the past twenty years, several attempts in our legislature to change the law and update these figures have failed.

Propublica.org published an interactive article³ that shows the large discrepancies between what injured employees can recover in each state for various body parts they hurt on the job. Sadly, it is a great demonstration of how outdated and behind Alabama’s workers’ compensation laws are, given that each injured body part is worth significantly less compared to the majority of other states in the United States.  For example, in Alabama, a fully injured arm can be worth up to $48,000, but that same injury in Georgia may be worth up 10-20x (or more) that amount.

This is happening, in part, because Alabama’s laws have not been modernized since the early 1990s when the cost of living was much less and $220 was two-thirds of the Alabamian workers’ average weekly wage. That arm injury mentioned above is worth the same in 1994 as it is twenty-five years later in 2019. (Reread that sentence!) Does gas, milk or groceries cost the same now as it did in 1994? Not even close.  The cost of living rises annually, but not the value of injuries to Alabama employees.

Injured workers in Alabama are not the only employees affected. Around the country, workers’ compensation laws have been slashed and dismantled over the last decade. ⁴ This is being caused by big businesses and insurance companies claiming that costs are out of control, while they are disguising this dismantling of workers’ compensation benefits as “reform” due to the “high costs”. In fact, this has been proven to be false – employers have pushed off these costs to American taxpayers. This was discovered during an investigation conducted by ProPublica and the NPR,⁵   which among other things also discovered:

• Since 2003, legislation in 33 states have passed workers’ comp laws that reduce benefits or make it more difficult for those with certain injuries and diseases to qualify for them. Florida has cut benefits to its most severely disabled workers by 65% since 1994.
• Where a worker gets hurt matters. Because each state has developed its own system, an amputated arm can literally be worth two to ten times as much on one side of a state line than the other. Another stark example how far behind we are in Alabama… the maximum compensation for the loss of an eye is $27,280, but $261,525 in Pennsylvania. Wow! Why would people want to work in Alabama where the injury benefits are so far behind?
• Many states have not only shrunk the payments to injured workers, but they have also cut them off after an arbitrary time limit — even if workers have not fully recovered. One not so unusual example was after John Coffell seriously hurt his back at an Oklahoma tire plant, his wages dropped so dramatically that he and his family were evicted from their home.⁶ His situation is far from uncommon. Sadly, we have dealt with that situation with our clients many, many times.

• Employers and insurers increasingly control medical decisions, such as whether an injured worker needs surgery. In 37 states (including Alabama), workers cannot pick their own doctor or are restricted to a list provided by their employers. Additionally, utilization review (a health insurance company’s opportunity to deny a request for medical treatment) further slows down the request for much needed medical care.

• In California and many other states, insurers reopen old cases and deny medical care (like utilization review) based on the opinions of doctors who never see the patient and don’t even have to be licensed in the state. One really bad situation of this was involving Joel Ramirez, who was paralyzed in a warehouse accident, had his home health aide taken away, leaving him to sit in his own feces for up to eight hours. ⁷

Glenna Gordon for ProPublica

The laws for employees in workers’ compensation cases in some states in America, including Alabama, are completely unacceptable and need drastic changes. Given these findings, Alabama workers’ compensation laws need a different type of “reform” than what the big corporations and insurance companies have in mind. At the very least, the laws need a reformation that allows adequate compensation for the injured employee. They need to be modernized, based on the current economy and ever-evolving societal needs for injured workers. We truly hope that these laws in our State are brought into alignment with other states that better protect their workers.

In the meantime, as we have since 1967, we will continue to protect the legal rights of our clients – those who are hurt on the job while working for Alabama employers.  If you have been injured on the job and want to learn your rights, please consider contacting the Nomberg Law Firm. Our office number is 205-930-6900 and website www.NombergLaw.com. Our office is located in Birmingham, Alabama. We handle cases throughout our great State.

Sources:
[1]https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/2006/19360/123309.html
[2]https://www.propublica.org/article/alabama-bill-would-increase-workers-comp-benefits-for-amputees
[3]https://www.propublica.org/article/how-much-is-your-arm-worth-depends-where-you-work
[4]https://www.propublica.org/article/the-demolition-of-workers-compensation
[5]https://www.npr.org/series/394891172/insult-to-injury-americas- vanishing-worker-protections
[6]https://www.propublica.org/article/injured-worker-propublica-npr- story-testifies-before-illinois-legislature
[7]https://www.propublica.org/article/workers-compensation-injured-workers-share-stories-of-harm

 

Bernard D. Nomberg has been a lawyer for more than 20 years. Bernard has earned an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell’s peer-review rating. In 2018, Bernard was named a Super Lawyer for the 6th year in a row and he was recognized as one of the Top 50 Lawyers in Alabama.

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from The Nomberg Law Firm – Birmingham Workers' Compensation & Personal Injury Lawyers https://www.nomberglaw.com/blog/why-will-you-not-retire-off-your-alabama-work-comp-case/

EMPLOYEE OR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR

by Bernard D. Nomberg, Partner, The Nomberg Law Firm

[1]

Lately it seems there has been a surge of litigation and uproar surrounding workers and their relationship to the companies that procure their services. Especially in the truck driving industry. While a contentious relationship with the boss is a tale as old as time, the current facet of this controversy is catching the attention of workers and creating buzz in courts around the country. The new source is classification of workers. The companies want, and indeed benefit from, calling those who render services “independent contractors.” Meanwhile, those same workers wish to be deemed “employees” and receive all the benefits and protections that accompany such designation. We all may be familiar with the terminology that dominates any discussion of the issue, but what do we really know about the mechanics behind the classification?

When litigation ensues and courts are tasked with determining the status of an employee, multiple factors are taken into account and reviewed on a case-by-case basis. To name a few, a judge will look at the employer’s ability to control the execution of services by the worker. Whether the company actually uses this right bears no weight on applying the analysis. If a company retains the ability to set a worker’s hours, establish routes, determine the loads carried (with no chance for the driver to decline), require safety meetings and standards for drivers, and has a set uniform are typical signs of an employee-employer relationship. Also taken into consideration is the contract executed between the driver and corporation, the driver’s ability to contract his services out to other companies, the way the driver is paid, and the driver’s autonomy in deciding how to handle his truck and various equipment. How these factors relate and assume weight is a gray area still being explored by developing case law.[2]

In Alabama specifically, these factors are nearly synonymous with the test that will be applied to each case. The test exactly stated is “whether the other person has reserved the right of control over the means and method by which the person’s work will be performed, whether or not the right of control is actually exercised.”[3] Again, the ambiguity continues in the state cases until the individual facts are reviewed. However, the factors enumerated are still the best indicator of where a claim stands. If a worker has to abide by strict standards imposed by a company and loses his own ability to direct his work, basically forfeiting his independence, it stands to reason that the classification as “independent contractor” is lost as well.

If you have questions about your classification as a driver or if you are injured while driving or riding, please call The Nomberg Law Firm. We are located in Birmingham, Alabama. Office number is 205-930-6900.  For further information, please visit our website: Nomberglaw.com.

 

[1] http://www.personalinjuryloans.net/Big-Rig-Semi-Trailer-Truck-Presettlement-Loans

[2] https://www.colonialtruckinginsurance.com/employee-independent-contractor/

[3] Lifestar Response of Alabama, Inc. v. Admiral Ins. Co., 17 So. 3d 200, 213 (Ala. 2009).

Bernard D. Nomberg has been a lawyer for more than 20 years. Bernard has earned an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell’s peer-review rating. In 2018, Bernard was named a Super Lawyer for the 6th year in a row and he was recognized as one of the Top 50 Lawyers in Alabama.

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from The Nomberg Law Firm – Birmingham Workers' Compensation & Personal Injury Lawyers https://www.nomberglaw.com/blog/employee-or-independent-contractor/