Mixed results for case involving Weatherford US LP

• Weatherford US LP, a Texas-based oil and gas company, will not have to pay punitive damages to the estate of a deceased former employee.
• However, the company lost its argument at the Sixth Circuit that it didn’t violate the Surface Transportation Assistance Act when firing that worker.
• Weatherford must also pay compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said Wednesday.
• The appeals court stood by judgments made by the Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board, which affirmed awards granted by an administrative law judge except for punitive damages that the board said were eliminated when the plaintiff died.
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Company fined after inflatables go airborne 

• A  company in Hendersonville, North Carolina, was fined nearly $40,000 after multiple adults and children were injured when bounce houses went airborne during a windy Little League day.
• During the Transylvania Little League opening day on March 25 at the Brevard Sports Complex, two inflatable structures got caught in a wind gust and went airborne, according to the Transylvania Little League safety officer.
• The inflatables were not properly set up and were missing stakes and tethers.
• Incredible Inflatables and Amusements of Hendersonville has 15 days to pay the fine or file a written petition to contest the ruling and the fines.
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Circle K fined after firm retaliated against worker for taking sick time

• The Arizona worker-safety agency issued a $72,417 penalty to Circle K Stores, claiming the company retaliated against an employee for using paid sick time.
• The Industrial Commission of Arizona said a fuel-truck driver took four days of sick leave between February and October of 2022 and two days of sick leave in January.
• The worker was given a written warning in October then placed on administrated leave in January after taking a sick day and later terminated the same month.
• The agency handles complaints from employees who believe employers have retaliated against them for exercising their rights under the Arizona Occupational Safety and Health Act.
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Report identifies workers comp risks in construction industry

• Higher material and commodity prices increased the need for protection against property damage during construction, according to New Jersey-based Selective Insurance’s General Contractors Risk Report.
• The labor shortage created a need to hire more inexperienced workers, resulting in increased incidents of injury and workers’ compensation claims.
• Responsibility for subcontractors’ errors has long been a general contractor risk, but it is heightened with high prices, labor scarcity, and material shortages.
• The push to attract more women and minorities to the construction industry will continue and there will be increased demand for multi-use properties that combine corporate and entertainment centers with residential opportunities.
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