Charlotte NC Workers' Compensation Law Blog

The chairwoman of the North Carolina Industrial Commission said recently that the commission has formulated plans to deal with evidence that employers in the state are not insuring tens of thousands of employees under workers' compensation regulations. In addition, the commission found that workers sustaining injuries on the job were not compensated for their medical expenses or lost wages. As a result, workers ended up with permanent disabilities and were surviving on welfare.

Now the commission is taking an aggressive stance against employers who have not settled claims with injured workers: either they must pay up or go to jail. A contempt hearing has been scheduled this month for more than a dozen employers who have not resolved long-standing claims. If employers fail to settle these claims, they will be sent to jail, and if they do not appear at the hearing, they will be placed under house arrest.

Many teens in North Carolina may be working part-time jobs to either make ends meet or to gain work experience. However, new research suggests that laws regulating employment of minors between the ages of 14 and 17 are not as strict as they should be. As a result, younger workers are at a higher risk of getting hurt on the job.

The study's lead author discovered that 88 employees under the age of 20 died from workplace injuries in 2010. Thousands more are injured each year. According to the study, their work environment is poorly regulated, resulting in these injuries. And in the case of family farms, there is practically no regulation at all.

The health epidemic of the 21^st century, according to the World Health Organization, is stress. Stress costs American businesses around $300 billion a year. Nearly 30 percent of all disability claims in the workplace stem from behavioral disability claims, and the associated costs are up more than 300 percent in the last 10 years. More than 70 percent of visits to family physicians revolve around stress-related illnesses, doctors surmise.

North Carolina employers should be on the lookout for this issue that may be holding the American workforce back from utilizing its full potential. Stress can cause diminished productivity, worker absenteeism and even hostility between colleagues. Stressful work environments can even lead to workplace accidents, injuries or even fatalities, depending on the working conditions.

Amendment ONE is up for vote on May 8.  Proponents claim that it will ban forever gay marriage in our state.  However, it has a far more reaching impact.

The Amendment states that the only "domestic union" that will be "valid or recognized" in North Carolina will be a marriage between one man and one woman.   But our civil domestic violence law, Chapter 50B, specifically lists the domestic unions that are protected by that law.  Chapter 50B lists married couples, but also couples in a dating relationship, couples who live together, people (including kids) who live in the same household together, couples who have a child together, and ex-spouses.  This law recognizes and protects all of those domestic relationships and makes it possible for a person in one of those relationships who is abused to go to civil District Court and get a "Domestic Violence Restraining Order."   In most counties a victim does not even need a lawyer to get the Order.  And if the victim has been injured, then the District Court judge can order the abusive boyfriend, husband, ex-husband, or member of the household, to surrender his guns, his ammo, and his gum permits.  

Now, what happens to this excellent civil domestic violence law when Amendment ONE gets passed by the voters?  Well, all those domestic relationships that are protected in Chapter 50B--ex-wives, girlfriends, members of the household--all of those relationships will suddenly no longer be "recognized or valid" in the eyes of NC law.   Remember, the Amendment says that the only domestic relationship that will be "recognized or valid" is a marriage between a man and a woman.  So, the domestic relationship between girlfriend and boyfriend, between people who are engaged to be married, and between divorced spouses or people who had a child together--those relationships are no longer going to be "recognized or valid" in NC law!  

You see, a Constitutional Amendment trumps all other laws.  The General Assembly cannot override an amendment, and judges cannot override it either.  When this amendment passes, that civil domestic violence law will become meaningless for most domestic violence victims, because the domestic relationship in which the violence occurred will no longer be "recognized or valid" in our law.  If the law does not recognize something or deem it valid, then the law cannot protect it.  For that simple reason, Amendment One will do away with the civil protections for many victims of domestic violence in North Carolina.  the only domestic relationship still covered by that law will be that of a victim who is currently married to the abuser.  

Regardless of how you may feel about gay marriage, this unwanted side effect of the Amendment is a good reason to vote AGAINST Amendment One on May 8. 

But the folks trying to sell this Amendment are not being honest about this problem--in an article recently about it in the Raleigh News and Observer, Paul "Skip" Stam (the Republican legislator from Apex who is pushing it) and Tami Fitzgerald, director of "Vote for Marriage North Carolina" both denied that the Amendment would negate our domestic violence laws.  Stam knows better, and he pulled a fast one by claiming that it would not harm domestic violence "criminal" laws.  That is correct so far as it goes--domestic violence usually is a criminal act.  But he did not address the real issue, which is the adverse effect the Amendment will have on our civil domestic violence laws, notably Chapter 50B.  That is not a criminal law.  But depriving the victims of domestic violence the ability to go to civil court and get protection from the abuser, now that ought to be criminal!    Please vote AGAINST AMENDMENT ONE on May 8!  For a more detailed analysis of this problem see my article here:   http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/north-carolinas-amendment-one