Workers’ compensation has been a great development for both employers and employees. Originally created to prevent insolvency of employers due to extreme damage claims, it has also allowed employees to receive the care they need from work related injuries without the need of litigation. Workers’ compensation has been with us so long and become such an integral part of the employment process that it is sometimes taken for granted just how varied the applicable laws are across the country. Unfortunately,… Read More

As the transportation industry continues to struggle with hiring drivers, evolving state laws on illegal drugs and the role they play in the hiring process present another layer of uncertainty employers must confront in their attempts to augment a dwindling workforce. The presence of prior, drug-related charges and/or convictions on an applicant’s background check creates a tension: the desperate need for drivers, on the one hand, balanced against the potential legal repercussions an employer could face if the applicant is… Read More

Up until July 2021, Virginia had one of the most restrictive expungement laws in the United States, allowing expungements only for criminal charges for which the disposition was not guilty or for which the charges were otherwise dismissed. Simply put, expungements were only available for those who could show actual innocence, therefore making it nearly impossible for anyone actually convicted of a crime to be eligible for an expungement. However, in July 2021, lawmakers passed an expungement bill that established… Read More

Irrespective of the industry in which you work, chances are that over time you have developed a relationship of familiarity – and, it is to be hoped, a relationship of trust and confidence – with one or more lawyers who have represented your company or your industry. The practice of law is, first and foremost, a service profession, and part of the service that lawyers aim to provide to their clients is the assurance that if the client has a… Read More

One of my clients, a regional transportation company, was recently granted dismissal on summary judgment in a multi-million dollar mass-action environmental lawsuit under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Under CERCLA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can designate a site where substantial hazardous waste leakage has occurred as a Superfund site, and then can compel “potentially responsible parties” (PRPs) who generated, arranged for the disposal of, or (after having an active role in selecting the disposal site)… Read More

As of January 1, 2022, the minimum wage in Virginia was increased to $11.00 per hour and the minimum car insurance policy was increased to $30,000/$60,000 limits. Virginia Minimum Wage The minimum wage law, enacted in 2020 set forth a step-up schedule, with the Virginia minimum wage currently set to reach $15 per hour by 2026. Va. Code § 40.1-28.10. The following chart illustrates the Virginia minimum wage increases in the law: May 1, 2021, until January 1, 2022 $9.50… Read More

On November 15, 2021, President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law following much debate and a long battle through the Senate. A small piece of the bill is a pilot program initiative designed to test the feasibility of lowering the mandatory minimum age of interstate truckers from 21-years-old to 18-years-old. The White House’s website (whitehouse.gov) explains that the pandemic has exacerbated the pre-existing workforce issues facing the trucking industry. According to the American Trucking Association, the… Read More

A growing number of courts in Virginia are taking advantage of a 2018 law that permits a “certified facility dog” to be present with a witness during a criminal proceeding. According to the law a "certified facility dog" means a dog that has completed training and been certified by a program accredited by Assistance Dogs International or by another assistance dog organization that is a member of an organization whose main purpose is to improve training, placement, and utilization of… Read More