Employment Law

• Rusch v. Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium
  EMPLOYMENT LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2022) Rachel Reiss In Rusch v. Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, S-18038, 2022 WL 4588776 (Alaska Sept. 30, 2022), the supreme court held that the Alaska Workers’ Compensation Act (the Act) authorizes the Alaska Workers’ Compensation Appeals Commission (the Commission) to award successful workers’ compensation claimants enhanced attorneys’ fees. (Id. at *1). ...
• Burke v. Criterion General, Inc.
  LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT Adam Beyer In Burke v. Criterion General, Inc., 499 P.3d 319 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that amendments to the Alaska Workers’ Compensation Act did not violate procedural or substantive due process in allowing project owners and contractors the use of the exclusive remedy defense. (Id. at 320). A worker’s estate had received ...
• Sumpter v. Fairbanks North Star Borough School District
  LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW Peter Graham In Sumpter v. Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, 494 P.3d 505 (Alaska 2021), the Supreme Court held that workers’ compensation presumption analysis does not weigh the evidence presented during the first two stages of a workers’ compensation claim. (Id. at 514). Rather, the evidence a defendant introduces to rebut a ...
• State, Department of Corrections v. Wozniak
  EMPLOYMENT LAW Clara Nieman In State, Department of Corrections v. Wozniak, 491 P.3d 1081 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that an agency did not abuse its discretion in awarding attorneys’ fees as both a lump sum based on the attorney’s past work and ongoing statutory minimum fees based on future workers’ compensation benefits. (Id. at 1088). ...
• Murphy v. Fairbanks North Star Borough
  EMPLOYMENT LAW Sasha Kahn In Murphy v. Fairbanks North Star Borough, 494 P.3d 556 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that, based on legislative history and intent, the two-year statute of limitations on disability claims under the Alaska workers’ compensation statute applies to impairment claims as well. (Id. at 566–69). A mechanic working for the Fairbanks North ...
• Luong v. Western Surety Co.
  EMPLOYMENT LAW Melissa Gustafson In Luong v. Western Surety Co., 485 P.3d 46 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that under the Little Miller Act, “labor” is defined as the work that is necessary to and forwards the project secured by the payment bond, and “notice” is effective the date the notice is sent, not the date ...
• Werba v. Ass’n of Village Council Presidents
  EMPLOYMENT LAW Emma Giusto In Werba v. Ass’n of Village Council Presidents, 480 P.3d 1200 (Alaska, 2021), the supreme court held that (1) trial courts have the discretion to allow parties to cure deficiencies in summary judgment motions, and (2) testimony that a former employee may have been deceived about the temporary nature of a new position ...
• Kennedy v. Anchorage Police & Fire Retirement System
  EMPLOYMENT LAW Daniel Clark In Kennedy v. Anchorage Police & Fire Retirement System, 485 P.3d 1030 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that the Anchorage Municipal Codes require that court ordered damages or settlements be considered retroactive compensation in calculating retirement benefits; however, such retroactive compensation does not entitle retirees to accrue credited service for periods in ...
• Alaska State Commission for Human Rights v. United Physical Therapy
  EMPLOYMENT LAW Adam Beyer In Alaska State Commission for Human Rights v. United Physical Therapy, 484 P.3d 599 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that the Alaska Workers’ Compensation Board acted reasonably when it interpreted the merits of a provider’s claim to require a review of the underlying medical care. (Id. at 606–07). The case arose after ...
• Buntin v. Schlumberger Technology Corp.
  EMPLOYMENT LAW Hannah Rogers In Buntin v. Schlumberger Technology Corp., 487 P.3d 595 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that an employer is required to prove an exemption to the overtime provisions of the Alaska Wage and Hour Act (AWHA) by preponderance of the evidence and that the court must give AWHA exemptions a fair reading, rather ...