Rice Law Office Blog

On March 25, 2015 the Supreme Court ruled that employers must provide the same work accommodations for pregnant employees with work limitations as they do non-pregnant employees with a similar inability to work. The ruling clarifies and extends employee protections under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, requiring employers to provide “legitimate, non-discriminatory” reasons when denying accommodation to a pregnant employee.

In Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) the plaintiff worked as a part time UPS driver, and after becoming pregnant her doctor advised that she should not lift more than 20 pounds as she had suffered several miscarriages in the past. UPS would not accommodate this restriction, and Young ultimately lost her job for choosing to stay out of work. As a result, the plaintiff lost her health insurance and was forced to take on the costs of her pregnancy without coverage. 

Young brought an action against UPS, but the company maintained that they were only required to provide work accommodations for employees that were injured on the job, had lost their Department of Transportation Certificates, or were disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act. After the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with UPS, the case was picked up by the Supreme Court, which ruled in Young’s favor.

NH law already provides pregnant employee with extensive job protection and time off with right to return to work after, this ruling clarifies accommodations for pregnant employees while they are on the job.

What does this mean? Companies that offer light or accommodated work duty for employees with work limitations have to provide similar accommodation for pregnant employees. Employers need to be proactive in updating their policies, and pregnant employees should be aware that they might have the right to accommodated work during the course of their pregnancy.

Since August 2014, New Hampshire has had a law in place that requires most health care facilities and licensed providers to create a written drug testing policy that also addresses the issue of diversion of controlled substances. While the legislation does not spell out the specifics for the internal policy, it does require that it apply to all employees who “provide direct or hands-on care to clients.”

Last spring USA Today reported that there were more than 100,000 medical professionals abusing prescription drugs, and that this abuse posed a threat to patient care and health. One of the core findings was that, in many cases, it was extremely easy for these healthcare professionals to access prescription, and that they were particularly adepts at hiding their addiction. Understandably, the report sparked a national debate on how best to combat this problem.

The law also requires testing when there is reasonable cause to believe an employee is impaired, but generally leaves room for facilities to select their own policy so long as it is “appropriate to its size, the nature of services provided and its particular setting.”

The ultimate implementation of these policies will vary a great deal across the state, but all healthcare providers need to be aware of the new requirements. Developing a policy which protects patients means establishing procedures to monitor controlled substances in the medical facility, provide confidential employee assistance programs, as well as maintain consistent reporting and discipline standards will be critical for all health care providers in New Hampshire.

Photo courtesy of FtWashGuy under a creative commons license.

PART TWO

Tell Me: How Can I Afford an Injury Attorney, What is a Contingent Fee, What will My Injury Attorney do first and What Is My Case Worth?
This is part two of our three part article, My Injury Case: What To Do and What To Expect-Practical Tips and Answers to the Most Common Questions.
In part one we addressed the initial phone consultation and office meeting and gave you inside tips as to what questions you should ask to improve your outcome.
In this, part two of our discussion, we answer some of the most common questions clients have: How Can I Afford to Hire an Injury Attorney, What is a Contingent Fee and What is My Case Worth? We also address what happens after you hire an attorney.
In Part three, we will explain what is means to "settle" your case and discuss the considerations that go into deciding whether your case will settle or go to trial and what you can do to help your case along.

QUESTION #1: How does the Attorney get paid? I don't have enough money to pay for all this!
ANSWER:

In almost all strong personal injury cases Attorneys will offer their clients a contingent fee agreement. We do this at Rice Law Office in most personal injury case and also in worker's compensation, Social Security and some employment cases. This means your attorney will be paid by keeping a percentage or portion of the final settlement or court award resulting from your injury. In a contingent fee arrangement, you are not expected to pay your attorney and hourly rate for his or her services. Essentially, the attorney gets paid only if and when you get paid and that fee comes out of your award. This contingent fee arrangement should be described in writing so there will be no misunderstanding about the fees your attorney will charge or how much your case will cost.

QUESTION #2: If I hire an attorney to represent me in a personal injury claim caused by the negligence of another, what will my attorney do first?
ANSWER

Once you hire an attorney, they should handle all the phone calls, leg work and paperwork for you. After the initial office meeting (addressed in our first article) our office usually takes the following steps to begin:

PART ONE: I'VE BEEN INJURED IN AN ACCIDENT,

You've been injured and you are in pain, the bills are coming in, you're missing work, the doctors are talking in another language and you don't know what to do.  To make matters worse, you are getting phone calls now from insurance adjusters and you're not even sure who they are. Are they from your insurance company or the other guy's company?  They want to take your statement or maybe, they are offering you money to "settle", what are you supposed to do?  On top of it all, your boss is calling and asking when you will be back- you're worried you might lose your job while you are out recovering.  It's too much to deal with and the stakes have never been higher.  YOU NEED HELP. 

THERE IS HELP OUT THERE AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE RICH TO GET IT.

First, you start by contacting an injury lawyer who will give you a FREE CONSULATION to discuss your injury claim.  Ok,  but then what? In this three part article we will empower you with the information you need to protect yourself and your loved ones. We will give you insider Tips and actual Questions you can ask your attorney to improve your outcome.

We will tell you what you can do, and what to expect if you have been injured and need help. In this first article we'll tell you about what you should expect from the initial call and that first the office visit with an injury attorney. We'll also give you practical tips and actual questions you can ask to help choose an attorney.  In the next article we will tell you  how you can afford an attorney without paying an expensive hourly rate  and explain what your attorney will do for you in the initial stages of representation. Finally, we will address common questions clients have about case value, demands and settlement.

With the recent outbreak of measles on the rise across the country questions about immunization requirements have become a hot topic of debate.

At present no cases of measles have been reported in New Hampshire in this recent outbreak, but how likely is that to change? According to a recent story by WMUR's Josh McElveen, Health officials attribute New Hampshire’s clean health record largely to an immunization rate that is among the highest in the country. (published 2/4/15, www.WMUR.com).  The State Department of Health and Human Services, indicates more than 97% of school age children in New Hampshire have received the state required immunizations for diseases ranging from the measles to polio.

So what is the law regarding immunization of children in New Hampshire?

New Hampshire requires mandatory vaccination for children attending School or daycare in New Hampshire, with two permitted exemptions: religious and medical. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services website www.dhhs.nh.gov details New Hampshire's mandated vaccinations and provides guidance as to the standards for medical and religious exemption.

Medical exemptions are available to parents or legal guardians of a child for whom immunization against a particular disease may be detrimental to the child's health. In order to obtain a medical exemption certificate the parent or legal guardian must acquire written documentation from a licensed physician or authorized healthcare provider that certifies that immunization against a particular disease may be detrimental to the child's health. The exemption shall exist only for the length of time, in the opinion of the physician; such immunization will be detrimental to the child. Moreover, an exemption from immunization for one disease shall not affect other required immunizations. In other words, an inability to undergo one particular type of immunization does not automatically entitle a child to an exemption from all immunizations across the board.

Its been a busy month at Rice Law Office with speaking engagements, a busy litigation calendar and radio spot with WEMJ. 

Attorney Rice had the honor of being invited to speak at the State NEA teachers' fall convention earlier this month, followed by a presentation for the New Hampshire Bar Association the next Friday, where she spoke about employment litigation from the Plaintiff's point of view.  She was joined by a panel of employment attorneys from both sides of the table, representing the issues most important to employers and employees alike.  The month was capped off with a guest spot @WEMJ1490 radio for open mic with Pat Kelly, where Anne and Pat talked about the ins and outs of employment law basics, here in New Hampshire. 

At the NH bar seminar Anne talked about the intake process and how critical it is to choose cases carefully and then to consider what is best for the client as the driving force for moving forward. Trial attorneys love to litigate, its what we do, but for most "normal" people the process can be stressful, expensive and time consuming.  There are alternative routes to resolution and good counsel should talk to clients about different ways to get the best outcome, with the least time, stress and cost. We should talk to clients about all the remedies available, including disability insurance, retirement, social security, worker's compensation as well as options for litigation like, claims for wrongful termination, discrimination, or wage violations and the like. 

Each type of claim has its pros and cons.  Some take longer, some are harder to prove and some have greater or lesser remedies available.  A claim for discrimination or wrongful termination can take years to bring for example, but disability insurance, unemployment or worker's compensation may provide a faster source of income to tide an employee over in the meantime.   Employees need to know how they will pay their mortgage and keep help insurance pending litigation, but law suits take time!  As employment attorneys we need to help sustain our clients as they await justice by providing information, resources and other options for help.

It starts with listening.  It's important to listen to clients to help them determine which choice might be best.  Employees who are hurt at work, treated poorly or fired, often feel like they have lost all control.  Their world is turned upside down when their job is at risk.  The truth is, our jobs define our schedule, our security and sometimes who we are.  When a job is threatened or pulled out from underneath us, it is frightening and it affects every aspect of our lives and the lives of our family. 

There is a sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, throughout the country and it is targeting NH residents as well. 

Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting. These scammers may even have caller ID numbers that appear to be from the IRS, the court or the police Deprtment and their tactics are aggressive.

Don't fall prey to this scam. 

Here's what you need to know:

1. The IRS does not and will not ask for credit card numbers over the phone, nor request a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer, says IRS Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel.
2. “If someone unexpectedly calls claiming to be from the IRS and threatens police arrest, deportation or license revocation if you don’t pay immediately, that is a sign that it really isn’t the IRS calling.”

People should know that according to the IRS, the first IRS contact with taxpayers on a tax issue is likely to occur via mail and not the phone.

In the early days of my practice, one of my partners used to say, "unfortunately, if it is not in the medical record, it doesn’t exist." While this is not entirely true, the best evidence in a disability case is often found in the form of medical documentation, and the only way to get that evidence, is to go to the doctor.  However, for most people who are unemployed and without income or health insurance, getting necessary medical documentation can seem like an impossible task. 

It feels like a no-win argument, right? I mean, how can I possibly afford to go to the doctor to document every physical condition?  I'm sick or injured so I can't work; when I lost my job, I lost my health insurance and without an income, I don't have the money to pay for expensive doctor appointments, but without the doctor appointment, I don't have the records and without the records, I can't prove I'm eligible for disability so I can't get health coverage or disability benefits!  It seems insane, we know.   

Every day we see clients making choices between medical care and groceries. When you don’t have enough money to pay the rent or put food on the table, there really is no choice: you forgo treatment. The problem is, this can become a huge obstacle to your claim for benefits. Claimants who tell the judge they are in constant pain but who do not seek treatment may not come off as credible.  If you are injured or hurting, you need to be able to prove that with more than your word; it is vital that your testimony is supported by the medical record.   

What’s the answer? You must begin building a medical record. Even if you haven’t been going to the doctor regularly up until now, it is absolutely vital that you begin doing so immediately. It will be hard if you don't have health insurance, but there is help out there and you will need it.  See if you are eligible for Medicaid or Obama Care and speak to your doctor or hospital, because almost every county has a clinic or a hospital that will see patients at reduced cost if you truly aren't able to afford care. If you are a veteran, go to your local VA and definitely go to your local welfare office in your county and also in your town.  You can also check with your church or place of worship if you have one, as they might have a fund to help in cases such as yours.  There are resources out there, but you will have to work to find them. 

You may not be employed, but you have a lot of work to do and for now, your job is to seek out and get services for your physical and mental disabilities.  You must establish a relationship with a doctor, and attend follow up visits as well as any referrals which are made to see specialists. Whether you are applying for social security or private disability, they need to see records of your condition and care over time, not just once or twice. 

New Hampshire has long been known as an idyllic summer location, offering the complete gambit of summer activities for vacationers and full time residents alike. Lakes, mountains, and beaches in the Granite State attract droves of people during the warm months, and New Hampshire stands up as one of the best summer getaways in the US. Whether you’re boating, barbequing, or lighting off some July 4^th fireworks, New Hampshire is a great place to recreate. All of these recreational activities, however, come with risk of injury.

Boating is a dangerous activity, and causes hundreds of fatalities and thousands of serious injuries in the US every year. In 2013 the US experienced:

A recent Blomberg News article by reporter Robert Schmidt addressed assistant secretary at the U.S. Labor Department, Phyllis Borzi’s fight to tighten the standards for Brokers investing retirement accounts. Below are excerpts from that article.For a full view of the article go to http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-18/cobra-s-mother-takes-on-wall-street-in-fight-over-401-k-s.html

How Americans save for their latter years has changed vastly since Labor first set rules for retirement funds in the 1970s. Many workers had employer-controlled pensions and the 401(k) didn’t exist. Now, pensions are rare and tens of millions of people rely on their 401(k) plans and IRAs, which together hold almost $11 trillion.

According to Phyllis Borzi, assistant secretary at the U.S. Labor Department, those resources are increasingly needed. Some 10,000 people will turn 65 every day from now until Dec. 31, 2030,

Borzi is fighting to protect those precious dollars. She has long argued that people’s retirement savings can be eroded by high fees or imprudent investments recommended by advisers with hidden incentives. She is pushing for brokers to be held to a legal standard that they must act in a client’s best interest, an obligation known as a fiduciary duty.

Brokers are held to a "suitability" standard, meaning they must reasonably believe their recommendation is right for a client. Investment advisers operate under the fiduciary standard, which imposes a much tougher overall responsibility for the customer’s welfare.

New Hampshire is preparing to implement the New Hampshire Health Protection Program (NHHPP) that will help provide access to health care coverage to Granite Staters who may have never had insurance before. As the program gets closer to launching, the Department of Health and Human Services is hosting a number of information sessions to talk directly with individuals around the state about exactly what the program means.

For those interested in getting more information regarding the NHHPP, and would like an opportunity to speak with individuals involved from the Department of Health and Human Services, please RSVP to one of the events below:

Meeting Schedule: