The bureau announced these figures as American labor unions came under increasing political attack. Republican governors and Republican-controlled legislatures in Wisconsin and elsewhere have moved to diminish public employees’ rights to collective bargaining. More recently, Indiana is moving to become the first state in over a decade to implement a “right to work” law, which bars employers and unions from entering into contracts that require workers to pay fees for union representation.

According to the BLS, unions currently represent 16.3 million workers, some 1.5 million more than the total membership, suggesting that many workers choose to refrain from joining the unions that represent them in their place of work.

The percentage of public sector workers in unions stood at 37% last year, more than five times higher than the 6.9% membership rate for private sector employees. By comparison, more than 35% of private sector workers belonged to unions in the 1950s.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics claims that the total number of private sector employees in unions rose by 110,000 to 7.2 million, aided by a partial recovery in manufacturing and construction sectors. Yet as an increasing number of states, cities and school districts lay off workers, the number of public sector employees in unions fell 61,000, to 7.56 million.

The Labor Department reported that the highest union rates were in New York State, where 24.1% of workers are members; this is followed by Alaska (22.1%) and Hawaii (21.5%). North Carolina currently has the lowest rate at a mere 2.9%, followed by South Carolina (3.4%) and Georgia (3.9%).

If you are in need of a Washington Employment Attorney, Workers Compensation Lawyer, or need experienced counsel for any part of your L&I Claim, contact Emery Reddy for help with your case.  Our team can also provide confidential legal advice and representation to workers who have been ordered to complete an independent medical examination for a workplace injury.

The Misclassification Initiative is restoring rights to those who have been cheated through their employer’s improper practices. In September of 2011, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the Labor Department and the IRS. This arrangement enables agencies to work more closely and share information that will reduce the overall incidence of employee misclassification.

The Wage & Hour Division and the State of Washington Department of Labor & Industries joined forced with the shared goal to provide clear, reliable, and accessible outreach to employers, workers, and other Washington residents. To this end, L&I and the Labor Department will share resources and increase enforcement of worker classification laws by conducting joint investigations and providing ease-of-access to information pertinent to the enforcement of such laws.

Click here for a recent CBS story on Misclassification of Independent Contractors.

If you feel you are a misclassified worker, and have been denied benefits as a result, contact an L&I Attorney to represent your rights.

Yet these extreme working hours are not the only thing to encroach on workers who, not long ago, still enjoyed a full day to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends: violence has also become increasingly common during the Black Friday shopping frenzy, putting more and more workers at risk of physical injury, anxiety, fatigue, and emotional stress.

According to Los Angeles police, one woman at a Los Angeles Wal-Mart used pepper spray on at least 20 other shoppers to gain a competitive edge on accessing discount items. Wal-Mart workers, who are already grossly under-paid and receive negligible benefits, also had to deal with shootings and robberies in California, Florida and South Carolina. Police also reported a stabbing outside the Wal-Mart in Sacramento, N.Y.

In another case, a grandfather fell victim to police violence after stuffing a product in his waistband to free his hands and help his fallen grandson to his feet (although there are vast discrepancies in witnesses reports, with others claiming that the man was shoplifting, and merely subdued by the police with appropriate force).

Even after the long Black Friday shifts ended, workers continued to suffer injuries. According to the Palm Beach Florida Sheriff, one Target worker driving home from her early-morning shift fell asleep at the wheel and veered into a canal. She was submerged for 5 to 6 minutes before being rescued, but miraculously survived the ordeal. Despite the fact that exhausting workplace demands and conditions caused her fatigue, it is unlikely that she will qualify for workers’ compensation benefits for her injuries, since she the employee already completed her shift and left her workplace.

Many Americans are alarmed to see these long work hours (and the shopping frenzy in general) eclipse the Thanksgiving holiday, and are signing petitions or joining movements like “Save Thanksgiving.”

VIDEO: Workers & Black Friday Violence

While the conditions of the settlement were not made public, the success of the suit has stirred debate about this health hazard that may be more common than most realize.

Judith Murawski, an industrial hygienist for the Association of Flight Attendants, told msnbc.com, “The issue is really heating up now.”  She added that she handles sometimes twelve new cases a month of flight crew employees reporting exposure to toxic fumes.  In fact, these injuries are often reported as employees are en route to medical care.

Industry officials say that on at least one domestically registered jetliner per day, all aboard are exposed to toxic fumes or even smoke.  However, these are only the documented exposures.  Fumes can include a number of chemical and carcinogenic compounds, including carbon monoxide and tricresyl phosphates (TCPs).

So…how do toxic fumes get into an air conditioning system built for human respiration?

On many jetliners, and on most Boeing commercial jetliners, cabin air is pumped from the engine itself.  Boeing insists that any leaks into this system are rare and such slight exposures ultimately pose no health risk.  Boeing released a statement saying it “still contends that cabin air is safe to breath and studies by independent researchers have consistently shown that existing systems for providing cabin air to passengers and crew meet applicable health and safety standards.”

Airline workers counter that “bleeding” air from engines into air conditioning systems have caused problems going back nearly half a century.  Some argue that it is the very location of intake – the engine – that is the root of the problem and that this antiquated design is ultimately faulty.

Flight Attendant Terry Williams argues a single exposure to toxic fumes led to her disabling symptoms.  Her workplace injuries include memory loss, asthma, tremors, speech impairment and loss of balance.   Workers’ Compensation physicians determined that she was suffering from a neurotoxic disorder due to her workplace environment.

The Airlines themselves are predictably fighting back by claiming that the issue is exaggerated and “emotional” for flight attendants.

If you are the victim of a workplace accident, be sure to first seek medical care.  Next, contact an experienced Seattle Workers’ Compensation Attorney before you initiate the claims process.  The attorneys at Emery Reddy are standing by to help you with your claim.

While most Americans are familiar with the post-traumatic stress syndrome suffered by many soldiers returning from war, recent studies have shown that there are other physical traumas brought back from the battlefield beyond shrapnel wounds and amputations.

The battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan are novel and sometime toxic environments, with soldiers encountering everything from spent munitions to oil drilling by-products.  Included in this mix is smoke from open fires burning a number of materials, from plastics to chemicals.  Often, soldiers who encountered these conditions experience difficulty breathing when they return to the home front.

The September issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine announced that these soldiers may be suffering from a newly recognized condition and that there is a distinct need for better lung function testing.

Dr. Anthony M. Szema of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center proposes the term “Iraq/Afghanistan War Lung Injury” (IAW-LI) as a designation for this new disease.  Dr. Szema notes that the number of returning soldiers exhibiting symptoms that require pulmonary function tests is high.  In fact, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center study asserts that nearly 1 in 7 veterans exhibit symptoms that eventually lead to spirometry, a common lung function test.

Studying s group of more than 7,000 active-duty soldiers in the New York and Long Island area, researchers found that 14.5 percent had symptoms that led to spirometry as compared to 1.8 percent of soldiers who did not serve in the Middle East.  Researchers noted that the rate of smoking was much higher for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, but that this could still not account for the statistical difference.

While researchers already knew that Middle East veterans suffered from higher rates of asthma, the results of the spirometry tests suggest a type of lung injury causing irreversible decline in lung function.

 What Causes the Injury?

While war is of course inherently risky to one’s health, the ongoing campaigns in the Middle East have presented soldiers with especially treacherous environments.  The deserts, wilderness and cities of Iraq and Afghanistan have been polluted with the leftover scraps and chemicals of exploded and unexploded munitions, heavy vehicles, and oil production.  The study suggests many possibilities: toxins, inhaling sharp and course dust grains, and allergens.  Lung damage can also result from mechanical means like blast pressure or shock waves from IEDs.

Lung damage can also result from inhaling smoke from open burn pits, which are used to destroy everything from jet fuel to plastic water bottles.

Can We Prevent Lung Damage?

The authors of the study name a number of ways soldiers can avoid this lung condition.  Clearly the practice of burning fuel and materials in open pits must be replaced with an incinerator and recycling system.  Also, soldiers should have more access to the use of respiratory protection devices.

Should Civilian Workers Be Concerned?

 The symptoms of IAW-LI do have precedent in certain populations of domestic, civilian workers, as in the infamous case of “Popcorn Workers’ Lung.”  Former microwave popcorn plant employees sued and won large settlements against their employers after inhaling large amounts of the chemical diacetyl.  Also, uncounted employees have encountered chemicals in the workplace that can lead to a condition called occupational asthma.  This disease is a specific kind of asthma that is the product of workplace conditions where outside sources are not, at least initially, the stimuli.

If you think you may be suffering from occupational asthma, or any other work-related injury, be sure to first seek medical care.  Next, you should contact an experienced Washington Workers’ Compensation Lawyer at Emery Reddy to discuss your options.

This proposal was announced by Labor & Industries Director Judy Schurke at a briefing for the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Committee.  News like this tends to make business groups nervous as they tend to argue that any rate increase will directly affect their ability to hire in this shaky economy.

However, noting how the recession deeply impacted the workers’ compensation system reserves, Schurke insisted the rate increase was necessary.  She noted, “It’s critical that we restore the workers’ comp reserves.  Savings from the reforms create an opportunity to do this without large rate increases,” Shurke noted.

Kris Trefft, general counsel for the Association of Washington Business, countered “On the one hand I understand what they are saying.  On the other hand I can’t believe now is a good time to raise rates when the department’s own data shows they don’t have to because of these…reforms.”

However, Labor Advocate Kathy Cummings released a statement saying “We think that restoring the reserves is the responsible choice…Employers have strong financial incentive to aggressively market these lump-sum buyouts, but it’s anybody’s guess how often workers will sign on the dotted line.”

The Department of Labor & Industry will announce proposed rates on September 20 and public hearings will be held in October.  Whatever the outcome, it’s clear that the struggle over reforming Washington’s workers’ compensation system is far from over.

If you are an injured worker preparing to file a claim, be sure to contact an experienced Washington Workers’ Compensation Lawyer at Emery Reddy today.

Recently, a court decision in Texas eroded some worker rights with respect to the Workers’ Compensation Act by scrutinizing what it means when an insurer or employer acts in “bad faith.”

In the case of Texas, a rising tide of lawsuits claiming “bad faith” motives for all Texan insurance carriers were peaking in the courts. It was in this climate that Texas Mutual Insurance Company v. Timothy J. Ruttiger was filed in 2004.

Texas Mutual initially refused Mr. Ruttiger’s claim for compensation because his employer claimed that he suffered the injury at a softball game that was unrelated to work. However, Texas Mutual did come to a compromise with Mr. Ruttiger.

Later, a trial court decided that the company’s insurance adjuster had too readily believed the claims of Texas Mutual over Mr. Ruttiger, thus acting in “bad faith.” As such, the court compensated him over and above the amount Texas Mutual had already dispensed to cover medical costs and lost wages.  In effect, the extra money was awarded for “mental anguish.”

Although a Court of Appeals upheld the decision, the cased case was appealed to the Supreme Court.  Unfortunately, the Texas Supreme Court sided with Texas Mutual, arguing that allowing employees to receive compensation for dealing with unwarranted obstacles, delay, and obstructions to just compensation amounted to a burden on the Workers’ Compensation system.

Predictably, Mary Barrow Nichols, Counsel for Texas Mutual, declared the decision a “significant victory for Texas employers.”

Still, advocates for workers’ rights note that this decision reinforces the unpleasant reality that in many ways “bad faith” decisions  by insurers are very much built into the system in favor of employers.

If you are an injured worker preparing to file a claim, be sure to contact an experienced Washington Workers Compensation Attorney at Emery Reddy to serve as your advocate in this important process.

According the New York Daily News, a Yale University student was killed in an accident at a chemistry lab when her hair was drawn into a piece of lab machinery.  According to official reports, when fire firefighters responded around 2:30 a.m., they discovered the Michele Dufault sitting at a lathe with her hair entangled in the machine.  She apparently died after her hair was caught in the lathe, a rotating machine that spins rapidly to shape various materials.

Ms. Dufault studied astronomy and was due to graduate next month.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has reported that the lathe that killed Ms. Dufault was missing required safeguards and that the accident highlighted several issues with Yale’s system of safety policies.

Interestingly, OSHA didn’t fine Yale for the accident, citing that it lacked jurisdiction.  Essentially, there is no employer-employee relationship between graduate students working in labs and the University that governs them.  The murky status of graduate students laboring for universities has come under scrutiny of late.  There have been several movements by graduate students to seek unionized status when they are forced to labor as teachers as requirement of a scholarship package.

Nevertheless, OSHA did issue a letter obtained by the Associated Press that found many problems and ongoing safety issues in the machine shop where Ms. Dufault, who was an undergraduate, died.

According to OSHA, the lathe was built in 1962 and lacked a means to turn power off in an emergency.  In addition, warnings and rules for operating the equipment were not posted.  Most importantly, students should never work alone on dangerous machinery an should be trained in a formal safety program.

Ultimately, this unfortunate tragedy brings up a number of important issues that are of interest to labor rights activists and advocates for workers’ compensation: is a student injured while completing required work eligible for compensation?  What about graduate students laboring on behalf of a university?

If you are a worker or student worker injured in a situation where the obligations of your employer or higher leaning institution are unclear, be sure to first seek medical assistance.  Then seek out the experienced Washington workers’ compensation lawyers at Emery Reddy for guidance.

According to the National Academy of Social Insurance there has been a 4.4 percent drop in workers covered by workers’ compensation as of 2009.  If the numbers hold up, this downturn will represent the largest drop in coverage in nearly two decades.

Unsurprisingly, the costs to employers for benefit also fell to $73.9 billion in 2009, representing a decline of nearly 7.6 percent.  Both of these trends are yet another feature of a recession and shaky recovery characterized by massive unemployment.

While less injured workers as a result of less employed workers is a small silver lining to the economic suffering experienced by much of the company, there is also a solid positive labor rights indicator in the report.  John F. Burton, Jr., chair of the panel that oversees the report, noted that although the cost to employers dropped significantly, benefits did increase slightly to $58.3 billion, up by nearly 0.4 percent.

These statistics can sometimes be hard to process when the employment environment is so dynamic.  After all, traffic fatalities and injuries have decreased significantly during the recession and recovery…but this is due, in part, to high gas prices and consumers seeking other forms of transportation.  On an environmental note, the high gas prices end up being a boon, but for spurious reasons.

On a similar, although bewildering note, there were 4,551 fatal work injuries occurring in 2009, the lowest since 1992.  While this is certainly a positive outcome, a key goal for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is for fatalities to drop while employment rises.  This would signify a true improvement in worker safety.

If you are an injured worker, you should first seek medical care.  You should then seek the advice of an experienced Washington Workers Compensation Attorney at Emery Reddy to serve as your advocate as you file your workers’ compensation claim.

A California court of appeals has reversed an earlier decision that sent waves through California’s Workers’ Compensation system.

On July 29, the appellate court of California’s 1^st District reversed the outcome of the Ogilivie vs. the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, sending the original case back for review.

The original case surrounded one Wanda Ogilivie, who suffered a work injury that eventually led to a knee replacement.  She also suffered an injury to her spine, although she chose not to have a spinal fusion.  She never returned to work.  At issue is whether the method for adjusting workers’ compensation awards to reflect diminished future capacity could be challenged.

The original decision in 2009 ultimately ruled that in some cases, certain evidence could be used to rebut rating permanent disabilities.

The California Workers’ Comp Board decision had an unsettling effect on the workers compensation system, with businesses and insurers making the usual noises about how this expansion of worker rights would impact their bottom line.

As the case has gone back for further review, it is uncertain what the outcome might be.

If you are an injured worker, let the experienced Washington workers comp attorneys at Emery Reddy navigate the ever shifting landscape of workers comp law on your behalf.  Contact us today for all workers compensation and labor rights queries.