North Carolina WALSH Test For Jurisdiction
The WALSH test for jurisdiction in Work Comp claims has shown itself in a North Carolina Court of Appeals case. I was taught this very important test when I was an adjuster trainee some time ago for a major carrier.
I find it amazing that the courts have almost unanimously agreed on the WALSH test for jurisdiction. I first saw an Oklahoma Workers Comp judge use almost the exact acronym when deciding jurisdiction.
Two main articles authored in this website are:
WALSH -Five Tests for Jurisdiction
The Best Test For Multi-jurisdictions
There are many more articles written by me on this subject. Jurisdictions are so very important when attempting to properly adjust a workers comp claim where the employee works, lives, or other conditions which point to more than one state. I was the first one to point out this very great tool in an article.
Worked – Where did the employee work a majority of the time?
Accident – In which State did the accident occur?
Lived – Where did the employee live most of the time or where is the employee’s true home?
Salaried – Where was the employee paid out of each pay period
Hired – Where was the employee hired from – or from where was the job offer made?
One very important point is to remember that the most important consideration is Worked with Hired being the least. If something works in the Work Comp claims area, I will always attempt to point it out multiple times such as 3 point 24 hour contact.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals applied the same test with a slight different angle. The North Carolina Industrial Commission ruled they had no jurisdiction. The case was then appealed.
The case was MARTHA HOLMES, Employee, Plaintiff v. ASSOCIATED PIPE LINE CONTRACTORS, INC. and others Click on the case to receive a download of the PDF file. If you do not have a PDF reader for your computer, tablet, or phone, please go to Adobe and download the proper reader.
The case seemed to hinge on in which state did the employer and employee finalize the employment contract? A drug test was one of the major factors.
If we take a step back and look at the file the WALSH test for jurisdiction showed that Martha Holmes:
- Worked – Texas
- Accident – Texas
- Lived – North Carolina
- Salaried – Texas
- Hired – Texas
I will digress and let you read about the case and make your own decisions. The main goal here was to once again mention the almost infallible test for jurisdiction. Please note that I am not drawing any legal conclusions. I was just reiterating the likely path followed by the claims staff.
A tip of the hat to WorkCompCentral for pointing out his interesting case.
If you do not use or want to remember the WALSH test for jurisdictions which has not failed me for 30 years, please feel free to print or save this article or one of the other two articles that I linked to above.
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