NWCDN Members regularly post articles and summary judgements in workers’ compensations law in your state.
Select a state from the dropdown menu below to scroll through the state specific archives for updates and opinions on various workers’ compensation laws in your state.
Contact information for NWCDN members is also located on the state specific links in the event you have additional questions or your company is seeking a workers’ compensation lawyer in your state.
One hundred years ago today, the Alabama Senate approved bill 26-1 which, when enacted into law the following month, became what is now known as the Alabama Workers’ Compensation Act. Much of the original 33 page Act has remained unchanged in the last century. Here are a few items from the original Act that have changed:
While all of the above parts of the law have all changed over the years, according to at least one Jefferson County circuit judge, some of the changes have not kept pace with the times. A little over 2 years ago, we reported that anAlabama Circuit Court Judge issued an Order declaring the entire Alabama Workers’ Compensation Act unconstitutional. Only 2 portions of the Act were actually deemed unconstitutional ($220 maximum weekly maximum for permanent partial benefits and the 15% contingency fee). However, our Act now contains a non-severability provision which means that if any portion of the Act is determined to be unconstitutional, then the entire Act is considered unconstitutional. Although the judge ended up staying the Order for 120 days to give the legislature more time to act, the case settled and the immediate threat was gone. That being said, the threat is certainly not gone and we can expect similar orders to be issued in the future at the state and possibly even the federal level if changes are not made soon.