March 6, 2026 The Fifth Circuit recently  reaffirmed  an important limitation on overtime liability under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): an employer is not liable for unpaid overtime unless it  knew or should have known  that the employee was working overtime. This rule extends to situations where a worker was misclassified as an independent contractor, instead of an employee. Employers should take note of the Fifth Circuit’s decision and its effect on overtime hours, e

March 3, 2026 LAKE WORTH, FL  – The U.S. Department of Labor has cited a Land O’ Lakes-based petroleum tank services contractor for exposing workers to chemical and respiratory hazards after an employee was fatally exposed to benzene and toluene when they entered a fuel storage tank at a Lake Worth worksite in July 2025. Investigators with the department’s  Occupational Safety and Health Administration  cited PCE Petroleum Contractors Enterprises Inc. with 12 serious violatio

March 2, 2026 Contractors – of all tiers – are often surprised to learn they may be considered a “ special employer ” of individuals who actually work for independent third parties—such as temporary staffing agencies or equipment rental companies—on their projects. Even more surprising, contractors (including owners who self-perform) can be held primarily responsible for the negligent acts or omissions of these third-party workers because of this “ special employer ” status.

March 1, 2026 Workers’ compensation judges may consider a variety of factors when determining whether a claimant is permanently disabled. A case involving a worker injured operating a front-end loader highlights the type of factors that come into play. In Louisiana, those factors should also dictate whether or how an employer decides to challenge a WCJ's finding. The 58-year-old claimant was injured when the front-end loader she was operating struck concrete and jolted her, i

February 2, 2026 What Do You Think? With states generally allowing individuals to carry guns, including at work, an interesting issue is whether a shooting accident at work can trigger a compensable claim. A case involving a claimant who estimated vehicle damage at an auto body shop and ended up damaging his own body sheds some light on that topic. The estimator always carried a gun. He had done so for several years for personal protection prior to taking the job. The job con

January 23, 2026 Case File When a Florida bus driver made misrepresentations about an injury she experienced in 2021, she lost out on worker's compensation benefits for   it. But when she experienced another injury in 2022, for which the 2021 accident was the major contributing cause, was she left without a compensable injury?  Simply Research  subscribers have access to the full text of the decision. Case Pinellas County Transit Authority v. Jackson, No. 1D2024-1522 (Fla. Di

January 6, 2026 What Do You Think? Employers may have to provide workers’ compensation benefits when an employee is injured while driving for the company. But is that also true when an employee is injured solely because he was tired and fell asleep at the wheel? A case involving an ADT patrol officer addresses that question. The patrol officer fell asleep while responding to a call. He hit a car in front of him, causing the airbags to deploy. He sought workers’ compensation b

January 3, 2026 What Do You Think? A carrier or employer may be able to issue a “back-up denial” of a claim it has already accepted if it turns out that it was misled by the claimant. A case involving a foreman who fell from a ladder at work, and from his son’s roof, on the same day – but only reported one of the falls – illustrates what it might take for a carrier or employer to revoke its acceptance of a claim. They say lightning rarely strikes twice. Falls, however, someti

December 2, 2025 Sedgwick Claims Mgmt. Services v. Thompson, Fla. 1st DCA, No. 1D2023-0193, Sept. 3, 2025 In this matter of first impression, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal addressed whether Florida Statutes Section 440.25(4)(d) precludes  Daubert  challenges to Expert Medical Advisor (EMA) opinions. Put simply,  Daubert  requires that expert opinions result from an analysis of reliable facts, use of reliable principles and methods, and reliable application of those

September 3, 2025 On September 3, 2025, the First District Court of Appeal of Florida, in Sedgwick Claims Management Services v. Thompson , considered for the first time whether EMA opinions and reports are subject to the standard that govern the admissibility of expert testimony in legal proceedings. In a WC case, an employer/carrier (E/C) sought to exclude the testimony of an EMA arguing that it failed to satisfy the Daubert standard—which provides the legal framework gove

September 3, 2025 On September 3, 2025, the First District Court of Appeal of Florida, in Murphy v. Polk County Board of County Commissioners , ruled that the statute of limitation related to an employee's initial PFB is not tolled where the employee voluntarily dismissed the PFB before adjudication, but asserts that a demand for attorney fees remains a pending issue. In January 2017, an employee filed a PFB for an injury that occurred the prior year. The employee subsequentl

June 13, 2025   Michael M. Brownlee and Stacy Ford, of Brownlee Law Firm, P.A., and Terry E. Leach, of Walker, Revels, Greninger, PLLC,...