North Carolina’s Senate Republican leaders are proposing a tax on legal services for individuals. Under the proposed tax reform package, corporations would not pay a sales tax for using a lawyer, but an average citizen needing legal assistance would. The tax unfairly penalizes individual North Carolinians and would discourage anyone facing financial hardship from seeking […]
North Carolina
Whistleblowers denied protection in NC Court of Appeals
Three former Forsyth County Board of Election employees who alleged they were treated unfairly for blowing the whistle on their supervisor were denied the right to sue under the North Carolina Whistleblowers Protection Act (WPA). The North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of claims brought by Pamela Johnson, Deena Head and Terry Cox […]
OSHA faulted for allowing North Carolina manufacturing workers to get occupational disease
The New York Times today published an article that exposes the hazards faced by workers in North Carolina and other states who are exposed to the chemical n-propyl bromide, or nPB. The chemical is used by workers in our state who glue together foam cushions for chairs and couches in the furniture industry. The workers in […]
State senator introduces bill to gut regulations protecting workers
State Senator Harry Brown, a business owner, has introduced Senate Bill 174, which, if it became law, would repeal a large number of regulations currently in place at the North Carolina Industrial Commission. Many of these regulations are important for the protection of injured workers. For example, the bill would repeal the regulations governing emergency medical […]
Employers who don’t carry workers’ compensation insurance: a North Carolina problem
The Raleigh News and Observer this past weekend highlighted the plight of injured workers whose employers knowingly refuse to carry workers’ compensation insurance. These businesses pocket the insurance money, and get a competitive advantage over businesses that do not carry the insurance. When their employees are injured and there is no insurance company to pay […]
Court of Appeals decides two new workers’ compensation cases
On August 2, 2011, the NC Court of Appeals decided the case of Capps v. Southeastern Cable, in which it held that an installer of cable TV and internet services was an employee, and not an independent contractor. The Court based its decision on the conditions of the employment, and gave no weight to the […]