Yeah, the government could require all American employers to start doing those same calesthetic routines that Japanese employees have to do all the time. 
Posted on 06/29/2011 6:27:44 PM PDT by Pan_Yan
EDISON — The husband of an AT&T manager who died from a blood clot after sitting at her desk for more than 10 hours one night is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, an appellate court ruled today.
In 2007, Cathleen Renner, who worked for the communications giant for 25 years, died from a clot in her lung about an hour after she finished working a long, sedentary shift at her computer in her home office in Edison, the ruling states.
"There’s an awful lot of people that do nothing but sit in front of computers for work these days, and there’s a certain risk involved with that," said Patrick Caulfield, a lawyer for the family.
The appellate court upheld a lower judge’s decision that Renner’s fatal condition, known as a pulmonary embolism, was caused by her work and that her husband, James, is entitled to benefits under the state’s workers’ compensation law.
The case, which workers’ compensation experts said was the first of its kind they could recall, should give serious pause to any office worker tied to a desk for hours on end as well as to an employer, Caulfield said.
AT&T contended that Renner’s work was no more a threat to her health than her day-to-day lifestyle, the ruling states. The company also said many factors besides her work contributed to her death. A lawyer for AT&T did not return a message seeking comment.
Dr. Leon Waller, who testified on behalf of the 47-year-old Renner, acknowledged the mother of three had other risk factors like obesity and the use of birth control pills, the ruling states. But Waller found that Renner’s clot developed while she was working.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Oh, yeah... My wife works for IBM like this and she has to make the effort to get up and move around because the work is so computer-centric.
I’m sending this to her e-mail. Her reaction should be interesting.
So anyone who dies for any reason on the job now qualifies for compensation? Lovely.
We have standing workstations and desks etc....
Aspirin a day helps but ya have to MOVE people. Go take a fast walk around the yard or block if ya work at home. Set a laptop on your exercise bike or treadmill is also an option.
But working at home or not.... Leave yerself some wiggle time !
I’ve worked in office buildings for the last ten years and you never know when the next ambulance will arrive or why. Most of the people in my building now are pretty healthy (financial firms) but I’ve worked in buildings with large call centers (read: hundreds of low paid cubicle dwellers) and they were not so healthy. I can say from my own observations and my own experience it’s easy to get lethargic and harder to get moving again.
I will direct my estate to sue FreeRepublic.com!
In short, employees are no longer responsible for their own health. This ruling makes the Greeks look like pikers.
In short, employees are no longer responsible for their own health. This ruling makes the Greeks look like pikers.
Yeah, the government could require all American employers to start doing those same calesthetic routines that Japanese employees have to do all the time.
I understand... Ergonomic seating is rare in the cookie cutter sheep pens unless high dollar Herman Miller is available.
I’m lucky in that I am moving around in an engineering environment that mixes tools an computers etc an moving around a large complex etc...
Not a skateboarding x generation sort of work play environment but more a work rest move an compute commute sort of thang.
Folks have to take responsibility for their own health ...yer managers don’t really care IMO.
Yet this case may change some stuff at work......recess !
I think you and I might be in either the same profession or really close. My time is about 30% desk, 70% moving around.
It depends. As a management employee and software developer, I have control of my hours and breaks. At this moment, I have worked over 30 hours since Monday morning. Most of them at my desk writing code. I do get up and check on my team members. I make sure they aren't hitting development roadblocks and help them over the rough spots.
There are many "call center" folks who punch a time clock. They are glued to their seats and computers for hours. The calls come one after the next. Break times are assigned and/or granted as the workload permits. The individual employee has little control over "moving around" during the shift. That happens when it is permitted.
The hourly shift workers glued to a terminal are a different case from my arrangements. The worker's comp ruling was probably correct in this case.
Funny to see this post, for no good reason I was thinking about this case today. Maybe I saw or heard something subliminally about this decision, since I live in NJ.
I’m sorry, but there is no way to prove this. She wasn’t chained to her desk, and she must have had to poop and tinkle at some time. Not to mention eat.
I’ll bite. What kind of workmens compensation could the husband get? Husband is crippled, has no arms or legs, retarded, doesn’t like to work?????
Well the article says she died one hour after work, so I guess this means, EVERYONE who works can use this (at work or not).
More time to play guitar is a good thing.
This happened AT HOME. She was responsible for her own ergonomic environment. She was not chained to a cubicle.
She could've spoken with her physician about risks related to obesity and birth control (a 47 yo woman using birth control pills?) and a sedentary lifestyle.
This ruling could have a chilling effect on "work from home" scenarios. Trip in the home office? Workman's comp. Cut yourself? Workman's comp. The possibilities are endless and trial lawyers will salivate.
AT&T should appeal & Congress should take action to limit workman's comp liability.
What part of that did you not understand?
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