There is no doubt that the COVID-19 has affected almost every area of Americans’ lives, including in the area of job injury and safety. Our firm has written numerous blog posts about the high risk of exposure many workers have to the virus, as well as posts regarding how the federal government, the state of California’s government, and employers are addressing the multiple COVID-19 issues workers face. But a recent study by the University of California has revealed just how vulnerable food service workers are.

Threats to Food Service Industry Workers

There have been multiple incidents from around the country regarding the incidents of violence many food service workers have experienced from customers upset about enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions many restaurants have in place. Just last week, in one story that went viral, a hostess at a New York City restaurant was attacked by three out-of-town tourists when she asked the guests to show proof they were vaccinated, per the restaurant’s policy. They responded to her question by punching her repeatedly in the face. This type of scene has played out over and over again in dining establishments across the U.S.

However, it is not violent customers that put food service workers most at risk. According to the California study, food service has become one of the most dangerous industries during the pandemic because of the high rate of workers who have died from COVID-19. That rate of death is higher than almost any other industry.

Many people who choose the career path of a flight attendant do so because of the many fringe benefits that go along with the job, including free flight and travel opportunities, compensation and benefit plans, and flexible schedules. What many flight attendants likely did not bargain for was the high risk of violence from unruly passengers. A recent survey reveals just how common—and how dangerous—that risk has become. If you have been injured on the job as a flight attendant, by a violent passenger or some other cause, workers’ compensation benefits can provide financial relief.

Violent Passenger Incidents for Flight Attendants

The Association of Flight Attendants conducted a survey of 5,000 of their members and found that more than 85 percent of participants had dealt with some level of unruly passengers in the first half of 2021. As air travel has again begun to increase after last year’s pandemic travel restrictions were lifted, the number of incidents has spiked. Almost 60 percent of participants had dealt with at least five confrontations with passengers, and just under 20 percent had experienced at least one physical incident.

Some of the more common incident types reported by flight attendants included:

There are more than 11 million workers employed in the construction industry in the United States. While working in the industry can be a lucrative career, it can also be a dangerous one. The construction industry has one of the highest rates of worker injuries and death. If you have been injured in a construction accident, a Santa Clara County workers’ compensation lawyer can help you get the workers’ compensation benefits you may be entitled to.

High Injury Rate

According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), 1 in 10 construction workers sustain work-related injuries each year. Fall hazards are the leading cause of these injuries. Many construction site accidents are the result of the employer failing to provide the proper safety equipment and/or safety training that is necessary to keep workers safe.

A recent contractor risk report compiled by insurance company AmTrust Financial Services reveals that workers who are employed by construction contractors who have been in business for less than four years make up 75 percent of construction industry workers’ compensation claim benefits that are paid out to injured workers. The report analyzed 26,000 claims that were filed over a 10-year period. California and Florida construction site accidents made up almost half of all the claims that the insurance company compiling the report paid out during the analyzed time period.

There are a number of dangers that warehouse workers are exposed to every day that expose them to high risks of being injured. For example, warehouse workers are around forklifts every day, but forklifts are also considered one of the biggest hazards to worker safety, responsible for more than 100,000 work accidents each year. Warehouse workers also suffer injuries because of conveyor belts, working on loading docks, storage of materials, and the manual lifting and handling of materials they are required to do.

As dangerous as working in a warehouse can be, data reveals that Amazon warehouse workers are especially at risk. This has led to lawmakers in California to take steps that would require Amazon to be more transparent about their practices and ban some of the policies Amazon currently has in place.

Major Growth of Amazon

There is no doubt over the past several years, Amazon has dominated online shopping, surpassing all of their competitors. That domination increased even more with the COVID-19 pandemic. With so many millions of people staying home and avoiding retail businesses, Amazon saw their revenue soar to $368 billion in 2020. The company also ended the  year with 950,000 employees, the majority of those employees working in fulfillment centers. Amazon is the country’s second-largest employer, following Walmart, which is at number one.

Unlike some other forms of bodily injury insurance, workers’ compensation insurance is no-fault. This means that an injured worker’s claim cannot be denied even if the incident that caused the injury was caused by the employee’s own unintentional negligence. There are some exceptions to that rule, however. For example, if an employee was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the incident, the employer does have the standing to deny the claim.

But what happens if the employee has a medical marijuana card under California’s Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) and has been prescribed cannabis by their doctor to alleviate symptoms of a medical condition? Can a workers’ compensation claim be denied because of the employee’s use of medical marijuana?

California’s Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act

Under MAUCRSA, there are a variety of medical conditions that have been approved for medical cannabis use, including AIDS, cancer, arthritis, glaucoma, chronic pain, and seizures. A doctor needs to make a recommendation for cannabis use and specify the condition being treated in order for the person to apply to the state and obtain a medical marijuana card. But this type of recommendation is different from many other types of medical prescriptions because marijuana–even for medical use–is still illegal at the federal level.