On Thursday, May 7, the Workers’ Compensation Section Council held its last quarterly meeting of the 2019-2020 Bar Year. Due to the ongoing public health situation, the meeting was held remotely via Zoom and telephone call-in, which as anyone who has participated in a multi-person virtual conference can confirm, was interesting, to say the least.
Although my term as Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section is not yet over, it is nearing its end, which allows me to indulge in a bit of reflection. At the beginning of the Bar Year, my goals for the Section included providing quality continuing legal education opportunities, identifying a pro bono project for the Section to support, and creating numerous social/networking opportunities for our members. We were able to coordinate two social/networking opportunities in the first two-thirds of the Bar Year, but the recent public health concerns impacted our ability to move forward with our third event, a baseball game at the Greensboro Grasshoppers in late April. I am certainly disappointed that this event had to be canceled, but my sincere hope is that this will be rescheduled next spring. I look forward to enjoying baseball and beer with my colleagues in the Section.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00WorkersComphttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngWorkersComp2020-05-13 14:30:532020-05-14 09:33:57A Message from the Chair
Right now, the NCIC has mandated that all mediations must be conducted virtually until June 1, 2020. This time frame could change, so it is important to stay apprised of any changes reflected on both the NCIC website and the NC DRC website. In-person mediations are the most effective particularly when parties are navigating thorny legal or emotional issues. However, I have been thrilled to have the ability to conduct virtual mediations via the Zoom web conferencing platform, and they have gone very well. It really is the next best option to an in-person conference because you can still read facial expressions and body language, which is so important in a mediation.
Full Commission Section and General / Administrative Updates
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission has instituted several new policies to help protect public health and safety, including new policies for hearings and mediations and new policies for accepting electronic signatures on agreements and accepting written affirmations without notarization. These new policies are posted on the home page of the Commission’s website and under the Latest News tab (Breaking News & Important Announcements).
Attorneys also can visit the Commission’s website to review additional COVID-19 Response postings addressing issues such as telehealth coverage and billing, secure leave issues, and the best way to reach Commission staff during this period of time when staff is working remotely to the greatest extent possible.
All Full Commission oral arguments are being conducted by teleconference due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Full Commission panel chair is providing the parties with a toll-free number and access code to dial into the conference call. All oral arguments that are normally recorded continue to be recorded by a court reporter.
A notice of proposed rulemaking by the Commission was published in the April 15, 2020 North Carolina Register. A link to the notice of proposed rulemaking can be found at https://www.ic.nc.gov/efilingandotheramendments.html. A public hearing on the proposed rule amendments will be held on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 at 2 p.m. Out of an abundance of caution and to address protective measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the public hearing will be held via teleconference only instead of being held in person. The teleconference number is 1-888-363-4735 and the access code is 4465746. Comments may be submitted through June 15, 2020 to Gina Cammarano, Rulemaking Coordinator, by email at [email protected] or by U.S. mail at 1240 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1240.
Industrial Commission employees are presently working remotely to the greatest extent possible. The Commission remains open for business but encourages you to contact Commission staff by email instead of by phone. Commission employees working remotely have easy and quick access to their email inbox on their laptops and other devices. By contrast, they do not have real time access to office phone calls when working remotely. Email addresses can be found by going under the “Sections” tab on the Commission’s Home Page and clicking on the appropriate section of the Commission.
Hello Section Members! We hope everyone is staying healthy (and sane!) during these uncertain times. We want to first thank everyone for participating in our initial Pro Bono effort for the year during the Annual Conference in February. Free Legal Answers participation has grown since that time, and we are so happy that our Section’s participation helped to increase those registration numbers. We continue to encourage our Members to register and/or log-in to Free Legal Answersto continue to provide Pro Bono legal services to the community.
Although we cannot schedule in-person events at this time, we would love to find a way for our Members to remain engaged in our Pro Bono goals for this year even while everyone is working remotely. Please look out for more information to come from the Pro Bono Subcommittee about Pro Bono events in which you can participate. Also, if you have identified a Pro Bono need or idea in which you think our Members would enjoy participating, please do not hesitate to contact Mallory Lidaka ([email protected]) or Samantha Aktug ([email protected]). Thank you again for your continuing support of our Section.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00WorkersComphttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngWorkersComp2020-04-20 16:22:062020-04-20 16:35:13Update on Pro Bono Efforts
Over the last several weeks, we have experienced things in our professional and personal lives that none of us would have contemplated just a couple of months ago. Most court cases have been continued until June 1. We are learning to work remotely. We are conducting meetings and mediations via Zoom and Webex . . . all while many of us are attempting (and I personally stress the word “attempting”) to homeschool our children and maintain some degree of sanity along the way.
These certainly are unprecedented times, the likes of which we may never experience again. When we look back on this, we will hopefully be able to identify lessons learned along the way. Adaptability and a willingness to change will be among those lessons, as will the ability to embrace new technology and to be more flexible in general. Perhaps the most important lessons we can learn center on developing more patience and showing grace to ourselves and others. I suspect many of us will be applying some of these lessons to our individual practices, even after things have returned to “normal.”
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00WorkersComphttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngWorkersComp2020-04-17 16:04:052020-04-21 12:27:26A Message from the Chair
On April 2, 2020, Chief Justice Cheri Beasley issued an Order that, among other things, directed that all superior and district court proceedings be scheduled or rescheduled for a date no sooner than June 1, 2020. Shortly thereafter, the North Carolina Industrial Commission issued the following revised/updated policies regarding Deputy Commissioner hearings and mediations:
Deputy Commissioner Hearings (Non-Medical Motion Hearings)
All Deputy Commissioner hearings scheduled to be heard in April or May of 2020 will be continued to be reset on a future docket, with the exception of hearings on medical motions arising under G.S. §97-25(f) or unless the parties are notified otherwise.
The Industrial Commission continues to review and evaluate its various policies in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. Below are the most recent updates from the Commission concerning its Secure Leave Policy and accepting agreements signed through DocuSign.
The Industrial Commission recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic will result in attorneys having to reschedule vacations, non-emergency medical procedures, and other plans for which secure leave was obtained. The rescheduled plans may then fall within the same calendar year for which three weeks of secure leave already has been granted and/or may not be known until less than 90 days before the requested secure leave period. Any attorney faced with this situation may file a motion under 11 NCAC 23E .0301 (Waiver of Rules) asking for a waiver or variance of the requirements or provisions of 11 NCAC 23E .0104 (Secure Leave Period for Attorneys). This motion should be filed in conjunction with the new secure leave written request.
Below is the most recent update from the Industrial Commission relative to COVID-19. This information was posted to the Industrial Commission website to address some questions received from attorneys about the current filing deadlines.
The Industrial Commission has received some inquiries from attorneys regarding its current filing deadline policy. At this time, the Commission has not granted an automatic, blanket extension of filing deadlines for the following reasons:
COVID-19 Response: Medical Motion Hearings To Be Conducted Remotely
Effective March 23, 2020, and continuing through the end of April 2020, the Commission’s COVID-19 procedure for medical motion hearings arising under G.S. §97-25(f) is amended as follows:
All medical motion hearings before Deputy Commissioners shall be conducted with the parties appearing remotely. The presiding Deputy Commissioner will provide the parties a toll-free number and access code to dial into the remote hearing. Consistent with existing procedure, hearing testimony will be recorded by a court reporter.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00WorkersComphttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngWorkersComp2020-03-19 16:30:362020-03-19 16:33:45Update for Medical Motion Hearings pursuant to G.S. §97-25(f)
Below are the most recent updates issued by the North Carolina Industrial Commission on its website in response to the ongoing concerns over COVID-19:
IC Staff Working Remotely; Email Communication Encouraged
In light of Governor Cooper’s March 10, 2020 State of Emergency declaration regarding COVID-19 and consistent with guidance issued by the NC Department of Human Resources, the Industrial Commission is encouraging its staff to work remotely to the greatest extent possible. The Commission remains open for business but encourages you to contact Commission staff by email instead of by phone. Commission employees working remotely have easy and quick access to their email inbox on their laptops and other devices. By contrast, they do not have real time access to office phone calls when working remotely, and their voicemail messages are not forwarded to their personal phones. Email addresses can be found by going under the “Sections” tab on the Commission’s Home Page and clicking on the appropriate section of the Commission. The Commission is committed to continuing to serve you during this challenging time and appreciates your understanding and assistance.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00WorkersComphttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngWorkersComp2020-03-19 09:24:262020-03-19 11:33:47Additional Updates in Light of COVID-19
By Eleasa Allen
By 
