The Coronavirus pandemic and the North Carolina Workers’ Compensation System

The impact of the Coronavirus pandemic has been substantial in the United States, as the nation tries to avoid a healthcare crisis. Many cities and states are requesting, a few even ordering, that citizens “shelter in place,” resulting in businesses being shuttered and employees without wages. Only certain categories of work are deemed “essential” and fall within the exceptions to these rules.

Workers Compensation in North Carolina and the Coronavirus -The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor, P.C.

Governor Roy Cooper issued a shelter-in-place rule for North Carolina, which went into effect on Monday, March 30, 2020, at 5 pm. This will force many businesses to close and workers to lose their jobs (even if temporarily).

Alongside the tremendous economic impact from closed businesses and people out of work, the Coronavirus has an unprecedented effect on North Carolina courts. The North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice recently issued an order setting out how the court system will operate during the current Coronavirus pandemic. This order significantly reduces courthouse activities, extends filing deadlines, and delays trials and hearings.

What about North Carolina workers’ compensation claims?

The Chief Justice’s recent order does not directly apply to the North Carolina Industrial Commission, the government agency which administers the North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act. Fortunately, the North Carolina Industrial Commission, unlike North Carolina’s civil and criminal courts, was already utilizing technology that mitigates the impact of the Coronavirus.

Documents are already filed electronically for the most part, unlike the North Carolina court system, which is still working to implement such a system. Many motions are heard without in-person hearings, and telephonic hearings are conducted for some motions.

Overall, the North Carolina Industrial Commission is very prepared to have its employees work remotely, allowing reduced impact on injured workers who have claims. That said, there will be delays and disruptions for injured workers having their claims processed and decided by the North Carolina Industrial Commission.

The following is an overview of some key aspects of the workers’ compensation system and the impact the Coronavirus crisis will have upon them.

Hearings:

The North Carolina Industrial Commission has followed the lead of the North Carolina Court system in “bumping” all live hearings before a Deputy Commissioner out 30 days. The process for most hearings in the North Carolina workers’ compensation system is already a drawn-out affair, and Injured workers with denied claims, or partially denied claims who had hearings set before the end of April will have to wait yet additional time to get their cases heard. This will mean further delay in treatment and benefits for injured workers who do not have disability or health insurance outside of the North Carolina workers’ compensation system to use while waiting to have their cases heard.

Medical motion hearings before a Deputy Commissioner will still be conducted at their currently scheduled date, but all will appear by telephone. However, such evidentiary hearings normally involve the parties taking doctors’ depositions, and there is no doubt scheduling and conducting these depositions will be problematic.

Appeals:

When an injured worker or an insurance company wants to appeal the decision of a Deputy Commissioner, those appeals are made initially to the Full Commission of the North Carolina Industrial Commission. Hearings for appeals are conducted with only the attorneys for each side making oral arguments to a panel of three Commissioners. For the time being, these will be conducted by telephone, so there should be no significant interruption in the ability of the Industrial Commission to get decisions out as normal after telephonic hearings are conducted.

When a party appeals from a decision of the Full Commission of the North Carolina Industrial Commission, they are made to the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Such appeals will be impacted by the Chief Justice’s order regarding filing deadlines and the operation of the court system.

Mediations involve the injured worker and the insurance company and employer having a conference to try to resolve any current disputes and possibly settle an injured worker’s claim completely. Fortunately, mediations can still go forward, as long as they are conducted by telephone and or video conference, and IF all parties agree. Currently, mediations for many North Carolina workers’ compensation cases are still be conducted remotely, and cases are being resolved.

Administrative motions and settlement approvals:

As the North Carolina Industrial Commissioner already required the parties to submit settlement agreements electronically via an online portal, review, and approval of the agreements continues as before. Injured workers who settle their claims do not need to worry that the Coronavirus will cause much of a delay in getting approval of their settlement.

As far as motions, most administrative and other motions which don’t involve a hearing can be filed as usual..To the extent that an injured worker needs to obtain evidence such as records needed for their motion or the hearing officer’s request, there may be some delays.

New workers’ compensation claims:

New workers’ compensation claims CAN be filed, and the North Carolina Industrial Commission is “open for business” as much as is possible.

The North Carolina workers’ compensation system is well equipped to handle the disruption from the Coronavirus pandemic, and many cases can still move forward. That said, injured workers will need to expect that there will be “hiccups” and delays as their cases move forward, even after the shelter at home and other restrictions due to the Coronavirus are removed. An experienced workers’ compensation attorney can help injured workers navigate the North Carolina workers’ compensation system and avoid or reduce as much as possible the impact of the Coronavirus on pursuing their claims.

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Notice of Data Security Event
Updated March 28, 2025

The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor is providing notice of an event that may affect certain individuals’ information. Although we have no indication of identity theft or fraud in relation to this event, we are providing information about the event, our response, and additional measures individuals can take to help protect their information, should they feel it appropriate to do so.

What Happened? On October 28, 2024, The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor identified suspicious activity related to our email system. We quickly took steps to investigate and determined that an unknown actor may have accessed certain emails within our email system between August 7 and November 7, 2024. We then conducted a comprehensive review of the potentially affected emails and attachments to determine what information was contained therein and to whom the information related, which was completed on February 25, 2025. Unfortunately, we were unable to verify the addresses of certain affected individuals, so we are providing this notice to ensure potentially affected individuals receive information about the event.

What Information Was Involved? The information affected may include individuals’ Social Security number, driver’s license and state ID information, financial account number, and health information.

What We Are Doing. We are notifying individuals about this matter and providing guidance about free resources that are available to assist with monitoring relevant accounts, credit reports, and how to place a fraud alert or security freeze on one’s credit file. Further, as with our typical security practices, we will continue to evaluate our policies, procedures, staff training, and technical security measures to reduce the likelihood of an event like this reoccurring.

What Individuals Can Do. We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing your account statements and monitoring your free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors. We also recommend you review the below “Steps Individuals Can Take To Help Protect Personal Information”.

For More Information. If individuals have questions about this matter, we have a dedicated assistance line with agents ready to answer their questions. Please contact our toll-free dedicated assistance line at 1-800-939-4170, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. through 9 p.m., excluding holidays. You may also write to us at The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor, Attn: Compliance, P.O. Box 2688, Hickory, NC 28603.

Sincerely,

The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor

STEPS INDIVIDUALS CAN TAKE TO HELP PROTECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

Monitor Your Accounts

Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Consumers may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of their credit report.

Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on a credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If consumers are the victim of identity theft, they are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should consumers wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any of the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below.

As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a “credit freeze” on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer’s express authorization. The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in a consumer’s name without consent. However, consumers should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in their credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application they make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, consumers cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on their credit report. To request a credit freeze, individuals may need to provide some or all of the following information:

1. Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
2. Social Security number;
3. Date of birth;
4. Addresses for the prior two to five years;
5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, etc.); and
7. A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if they are a victim of identity theft.

Should consumers wish to place a credit freeze or fraud alert, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:

Equifax Experian TransUnion
https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/ https://www.experian.com/help/

https://www.transunion.com/credit-help
1-888-298-0045 1-888-397-3742 1-800-916-8800
Equifax Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348-5069 Experian Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 TransUnion Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016
Equifax Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 Experian Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 TransUnion Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094

Additional Information

Consumers may further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps they can take to protect their personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or their state attorney general. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. Consumers can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. Consumers have the right to file a police report if they ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, consumers will likely need to provide some proof that they have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and the relevant state attorney general. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.

For District of Columbia residents, the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001; 1-202-442-9828; and oag.dc.gov.

For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-576-6300 or 1-888-743-0023; and https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/.

For New Mexico residents, consumers have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in their credit file has been used against them, the right to know what is in their credit file, the right to ask for their credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting bureaus must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to consumers’ files is limited; consumers must give consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; consumers may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance based on information in their credit report; and consumers may seek damages from violators. Consumers may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here. Identity theft victims and active-duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We encourage consumers to review their rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by visiting www.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf, or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20580.

For New York residents, the New York Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; or https://ag.ny.gov.

For North Carolina residents, the North Carolina Attorney General may be contacted at: 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000; and www.ncdoj.gov.

For Rhode Island residents, the Rhode Island Attorney General may be reached at: 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; 1-401-274-4400; and www.riag.ri.gov. Under Rhode Island law, individuals have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this event.
STEPS INDIVIDUALS CAN TAKE TO HELP PROTECT A MINOR DEPENDENT’S PERSONAL INFORMATION

Typically, credit reporting agencies do not have a credit report in a minor’s name. To find out if a minor has a credit report or to request a manual search for a minor’s Social Security number each credit bureau has its own process. To learn more about these processes or request these services, consumers may contact the credit bureaus by phone, writing, or online:
Equifax Experian TransUnion
https://www.equifax.com/personal/help/article-list/-/h/a/request-child-credit-report/
https://www.experian.com/help/minor-request.html
https://www.transunion.com/fraud-victim-resources/child-identity-theft

1-800-685-1111 1-888-397-3742 1-800-916-8800
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013 P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016

To request information about the existence of a credit file in a minor’s name, search for a minor’s Social Security number, place a security freeze or fraud alert on a minor’s credit report (if one exists), or request a copy of a minor’s credit report consumers may be required to provide the following information:
● A copy of their driver’s license or another government issued identification card, such as a state identification card, etc.;
● Proof of address, such as a copy of a bank statement, utility bill, insurance statement, etc.;
● A copy of the minor’s birth certificate;
● A copy of the minor’s Social Security card;
● The minor’s full name, including middle initial and generation, such as JR, SR, II, III, etc.;
● The minor’s date of birth; and
● The minor’s previous addresses for the past two years.

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