Denise Elliott

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Typically, a drug test cannot be certified as positive until a Medical Review Officer (“MRO”) verifies the result.  For drivers subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act, Department of Transportation Regulations state that an MRO must verify as positive a confirmed test result for drugs, unless the employee presents a legitimate medical explanation for…

Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act (MMA) was signed into law on April 17, 2016 and officially took effect last week. One of the questions we’ve been asked since the passage of the Act is: how will employer provided insurance (both health and workers’ compensation) be affected by the legalization of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania? The simple…

On April 17, 2016, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed the Medical Marijuana Act (MMA), which legalizes medicinal marijuana in Pennsylvania. The MMA, which takes effect on May 17, 2016, includes various provisions related to employment, and we have received many questions regarding what employers must, can and cannot do as a result of the new…

In 2010, the Pennsylvania Legislature enacted the Construction Workplace Misclassification Act (CWMA), which, in part, attempted to clarify who is and is not an independent contractor (in the construction industry) for the purposes of workers’ compensation coverage.

Section 3(a) of the CWMA provides: “For purposes of workers’ compensation . . . an individual who performs…

In 2003, the Pennsylvania General Assembly amended Section 601 of the Workers’ Compensation Act to expand the definition of the word “employee” to include employees who, while in the course and scope of their employment, provide aid to a person in order to (1) prevent the commission of a crime, (2) apprehend someone suspected of…

In Part 1 of this blog post, we explored the three legal classifications of potentially work related mental injury claims addressed under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act: physical/mental, mental/physical, and mental/mental. In this part, we will take a closer look at the rapidly developing area of mental/mental cases. We will also provide practical advice on…

Mental injury claims, often stemming from workplace stressors, are on the rise and can create major headaches for employers. Understanding the relationship between stress in the workplace and resulting mental and physical disorders, such as psychiatric disorders or cardiovascular disease, isn’t easy.  Often there are more questions than answers. Can stress lead to anxiety attacks…