Category Archives: Workers’ Comp

Losing my head from a computer invasion

When the horrible thing appeared on my computer screen, I was stunned. First I froze. Then I forgot everything I know about computer safety. I know enough not to have done what I did. I thought I was prepared for … Continue reading

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Forcing family farms to behave like businesses

Is a small family farm a business, a hobby, a living museum or something else? It’s increasingly clear we can’t have it both ways – – business and quaint tradition. The recent New Mexico Supreme Court decision on workers’ comp … Continue reading

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Worker protections are gone in a self-employed world

A commentator on a TV news show recently talked about new developments involving the ride company Uber.   The commentator remarked that Uber has made sure to set up its procedures so drivers are independent contractors, not employees. The dilemma over … Continue reading

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New work comp law takes drugs and alcohol seriously

Warning to everybody who goes to work:  New Mexico finally has a workers’ compensation drug and alcohol law that almost makes sense.  If you are irresponsible enough to drink or use drugs at work, or before work, or you are … Continue reading

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Counting to three in workers’ comp

The workers’ compensation coverage requirement in New Mexico has always been a mess. Finally somebody is paying attention to it. A state Court of Appeals decision last year yanked away the exemption that protected farmers and ranchers for decades from … Continue reading

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Workers’ comp news is good, sort of

From an economic development perspective, the news on workers’ compensation is pretty good. But workers’ compensation is never quite that simple. The National Council on Compensation Insurance, NCCI, presented its annual smorgasbord of statistics recently to a group of workers’ … Continue reading

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Ambiguous policies affect workers’ comp

The workers’ compensation system, we sometimes observe, is a patchwork of contradictory and inconsistent rules that are hard to understand and even harder to live with. Our courts don’t make this any easier. We were reminded of this recently at … Continue reading

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We’re not quite ready for legal pot

Good thing the legislature didn’t pass that marijuana proposal. The proposal, introduced in the 2014 session, was a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana, which would have been submitted to the voters in the upcoming election. The reasons to legalize marijuana … Continue reading

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Drug issues still dominate workers’ comp

The New Mexico Court of Appeals has supported the use of medical marijuana after a work-related injury. The timing was inconvenient. The ruling was announced on Monday, May 19. The state’s annual workers’ compensation convention was the previous week. I … Continue reading

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A cautionary tale about earmarked funds

“I’d like to explain to you about the Subsequent Injury Fund.” I used to joke that this sentence could clear a room.  If you were the host of a party and your guests weren’t getting the hint that it was … Continue reading

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