hurt at work

[ElleMD]

Back it up a minute. I am going to base this answer on you NOT having stolen anything or taken anything from the property you should not have. If you did, don't necessarily admit it here but what I am about to post goes out the window into the land of the "Hire an attorney, stat".

As you describe it, all of this happened during the course of your shift and while on the job. On the curb, off the curb, makes zero difference. It falls under WC. You do not need to be still employed to file or receive benefits. File it ASAP with the employer. The WC carrier is who would cover the bills for treatment. They will only pay lost time if you are medically unable to work, not because you lost your job. Your state is one which has some restrictions on where you may treat but your union should be able to assist you. Also, see here What To Do If You Are Injured On The Job

WC is your exclusive remedy. That means you can not sue your employer. That doesn't mean the legal system can not charge someone or treat it as a criminal action. You also can not choose to skip WC in order to later sue. For one, your personal insurance will kick out the claim if it is because of something that happened at work.

As far as Weingarten, leave that to your union. Same with your continued employment. Legally they could fire you even if you didn't steal but if there is a union, it isn't as straight forward.

 

[army judge]

I figured it was. google was no help haha I think ill use the same lawyer from 2 yrs ago even though I never retained them because as soon as I told the union I had my own lawyer they called and said I was returning to work. lol but now I have more harassment then I did 2 yrs ago.

You were criminally battered.
You're a crime victim.
I could go on, but you get the idea.

 

[lori516]

Ask your union, your lawyer, and your mental health professional.

This time it depends if you want to return to work, or see if the lawyer can get you a tidy six or seven figure package.

that would be nice money but all I ever wanted was what everyone else has, to work without being harassed non stop.. if I was a female id probably get 7 figures easier haha

 

[lori516]

Back it up a minute. I am going to base this answer on you NOT having stolen anything or taken anything from the property you should not have. If you did, don't necessarily admit it here but what I am about to post goes out the window into the land of the "Hire an attorney, stat".

As you describe it, all of this happened during the course of your shift and while on the job. On the curb, off the curb, makes zero difference. It falls under WC. You do not need to be still employed to file or receive benefits. File it ASAP with the employer. The WC carrier is who would cover the bills for treatment. They will only pay lost time if you are medically unable to work, not because you lost your job. Your state is one which has some restrictions on where you may treat but your union should be able to assist you. Also, see here What To Do If You Are Injured On The Job

WC is your exclusive remedy. That means you can not sue your employer. That doesn't mean the legal system can not charge someone or treat it as a criminal action. You also can not choose to skip WC in order to later sue. For one, your personal insurance will kick out the claim if it is because of something that happened at work.

As far as Weingarten, leave that to your union. Same with your continued employment. Legally they could fire you even if you didn't steal but if there is a union, it isn't as straight forward.

so if I understand your answer correctly if I go under workers comp it'll prevent me from bringing a lawsuit against company? what if I only use workers comp for medical and not accept payments for being out of work? or once I go workers comp route will it void lawsuit in future days coming. What would be your advice if you were in my seat? lol I don't wanna just sit and wait to return to work without doing what am entiled to

 

[lori516]

You were criminally battered.
You're a crime victim.
I could go on, but you get the idea.

Right now as far as am aware when leaving the union meeting is that company is terminating me. my union says they are waiting to see if the company has video to back up the claim of theft. at the meeting they claimed there was no video but there still viewing so I figure there gonna do what they did last time hold me out of work for the max time of 30 days before the union has to file for grievance hearing with arb.

 

[lori516]

Right now as far as am aware when leaving the union meeting is that company is terminating me. my union says they are waiting to see if the company has video to back up the claim of theft. at the meeting they claimed there was no video but there still viewing so I figure there gonna do what they did last time hold me out of work for the max time of 30 days before the union has to file for grievance hearing with arb.

but in the mean while am gonna see my doctor for the pain am in and sit down with my shrink because I haven't slept since all this has happened AGAIN.

 

[ElleMD]

If you were injured at work, WC is your only option for getting medical care. Other insurers are not going to cover it if the WC carrier should be paying the bills. If you go to a provider not authorized to treat for WC, you very well may be stuck with the bills yourself. This is why it is important to file the claim and follow the steps above to seek treatment.

Lost time is only payable if a doctor declares you are medically incapable of working due to your injuries. This is true whether you are fired or stay at the company until you retire.

If you are fired but not medically disabled, file for unemployment.

WC precludes a tort claim against the company and its agents for the injury. WC would bar this whether you ever file a claim or not and is not affected by any benefits you might receive. WC has no bearing on your union grievance process, any NLRA claim there might be, participating any criminal law proceedings related to the incident, or other claims filed through regulatory agencies.

I have no idea what happened 2 years ago.

 

[cbg]

Lori, here's what Elle is trying to explain to you, put into simpler terms.

In every state but Texas and sometimes in Texas too, it doesn't matter whether you go through workers comp or not, you cannot sue your employer. WC is ALL you get.

That doesn't mean that your boss can't be criminally charged for his assault on you. That can still happen. But with a work related injurty, workers comp is all there is. The law is specifically written so that you do not get to sue your employer, but they are legally bound to take care of your work-related medical treatment.

Foregoing workers comp and suing the company is NOT an option.

 

[cbg]

Sue them for what?

Maybe that's where we're falling off the rails. What kind of suit are you talking about?

 

[ElleMD]

Once again, WC benefits- be they medical or indemnity, are not dependent upon your current work status. You quit- WC still applies. You are fired- WC still applies. You are suspended and in limbo while the union figures it out- WC still applies.

You also misunderstand unemployment. The hearing officers do not care one whit whether your employer fired you legally or illegally, and they do not have the power to reinstate you to a job. Their only role is to adjudicate whether or not you came to no longer be employed for a reason which would qualify you for benefits. That's it. 99% of those who get benefits were terminated entirely legally. Your employer likely didn't show as they knew the reason you because unemployed was one where you would qualify. Or, it just wasn't worth the expense and time for 30 days of benefits.

 

[ElleMD]

My injuries that occurred from employer grabbing me

falls under WC. Period.

and years of mental harassment.

You would have to be a lot more specific about what you mean by harassment. Harassment has a very specific meaning under the law and it is not just an unpleasant work environment or one which is unfair and they do not like you. This is outside of WC.

Firing me for unclaimed basis. I mean currently am terminated for something they claim, but its a false claim. Isn't that a reason to sue?

No, it is not. Employers do not have to prove something happened. What happens when an employee is accused of a terminal offense might be addressed by your union agreement, but recourse would be through the union, not the court.

 

[ElleMD]

I have no idea where you copy and pasted from but once again, no, you can not sue because you are innocent. What you posted may be best practices and recommendations to employers but there is no law anywhere in any state which requires the employer to give you your job back if you are not guilty of something they believe you to be guilty of. There is no law in any state which requires they investigate, let alone outlines how that investigation should be done.

As for your union, the NLRA is a piece of legislation. The NLRB is the adjudicating body for offenses of the NLRA. They are not a general complaint department because your union is taking too long to get back to you.

 

[cbg]

A wrongful termination does not mean you were fired for something you didn't do. It means there is a specific law that expressly prohibits the employer from firing you for the reason he did.

What law are you claiming was violated by your termination?

 

[cbg]

Okay, Lori. You go call a few lawyers and tell them you want to bring a lawsuit because they weren't nice to you at work and then fired you for something you didn't do. If they start turning handsprings and offer to take the case on contingency, you've got something. If they start asking you for money up front, you don't.

 

[lori516]

Okay, Lori. You go call a few lawyers and tell them you want to bring a lawsuit because they weren't nice to you at work and then fired you for something you didn't do. If they start turning handsprings and offer to take the case on contingency, you've got something. If they start asking you for money up front, you don't.

its obvious you haven't been following the thread from the beginning, my bad because I deleted some posts but am sure no matter what you read your mind is gonna be the same . Know one can beat down a bully. Company's have lost lawsuits for less then what am gonna bring to the ring. you said I wouldn't win 2 yrs ago for me losing my job when I was suspended and fired for stealing time. Well guess what? I got my job back and unemployment ruled not they hadn't proved there case. No warning to me and no right to suspend an employee for failing to punch out for a lunch break. My company lost both times they suspended me. And both times they appealed it and both times they failed to appear for the hearing. And I heard through the grapevine the Human Resource Manager was let go because he failed in there mission to get ME. Until you been in my shoes don't assume you know what am saying. I don't tell all because for all I no you could be one of there online go getters. I do all my own researching and appreciate the advice I get from online forums. There aware of my past and am not only referring to work but outside work and the last thing I should be going through is more stress. They said I had more then 2 stress related issues going on in my life and that wasn't including work. So there aware of the stress there creating. And yes people on Jury's do have compassion and can only listen and decide if I had to vacate my postion due to work related issues. I'll let you no in a few yrs how it all turned out. Its 2 yrs since the last time I was fired! Thanks again for your input. Much Appreciated

 

[cbg]

Winning an unemployment claim does not mean that you have a lawsuit. The unemployment office does not determine the legality of a termination - winning a claim does not even mean that the employer was "wrong" to terminate you. (I'm not saying the employer was right or wrong in your case; just that getting unemployment benefits is completely unrelated to the legality of the termination.) No one is every promised a stress-free work life and to be lawsuit-worthy, the "harassment" has to meet certain qualifications.

But since you are convinced that you know more than I do about what you can and cannot sue for, even though I work with employment law every day of my life, you go ahead and talk to those lawyers and find out how much they want up front. If you do have a lawsuit, it's either because of a violation of your union contract (which we could not possibly know from here) or because of facts you have not put into your postings (and yes, I have been reading them from the beginning). So I'm not saying you have no case. I'm saying that nothing you have posted is clear evidence of grounds for a lawsuit. Not even the fact that you got unemployment.

 

[ElleMD]

The multiple posts make it difficult to answer each of your points. We have told you numerous times that unemployment does not mean you were terminated illegally and it is not something the hearing officer would even address. If you get a speeding ticket and later that day someone backs into your car and damages it, the judge hearing the speeding ticket case does not care nor will they determine who was at fault for your later accident. That judge is only there to deal with the speeding ticket. If the officer fails to appear and you get off the hook for the ticket, it does not mean you didn't speed, it just doesn't go on your record. It also does not mean that the guy who later hit your car is at fault because you prevailed on the ticket. They are unrelated. Who knows why the officer wasn't there? It really doesn't matter and it says nothing about whether or not you really did speed. We aren't your employer. We can only speculate why they did not attend the hearings. They forgot, stuck in traffic, were sick, had other obligations that were more important, didn't care if you got benefits or not, got lost on the way, whatever.

I do not know how many times I can tell you that WC is your only remedy for a work injury. It is that way in all 50 states and has been that way since the laws were passed in the early 1900's. Employers (or their insurer) provide medical care and lost time benefits as appropriate without the employee going through the time and expense of having to sue, in exchange for employees not being able to sue. There are only 2 states with an exception and yours is not one of them. As part of the WC law, you also can't just skip going through WC so you can sue. Your recourse is WC or nothing. You choose.

 

[ElleMD]

Let me give you one example so you have an idea of what I mean by unfair labor laws at work. Say I take a 30 min break and am only untiled to 15 mins and I got suspended and terminated for taking a longer break then allowed and after fighting for myself and winning. I go back to work and I have to take a 15 min break but certain other employess take between 45 and 60 mins when there only entiled to 15 mins and nothing is said or done about that? is that not a violation of the labor law? explain to me if its not because if its not then am gonna make it because to me its totally wrong. and its not once or twice its everyday for yrs even after I got fired for stealing time they didn't get told to shorting it. and they sit on camera the whole time. Thank gog I wasn't on camera when I was suspened because then I could never had made my case. You see the point of where am going with that andit being a labor violation?

This is not an example of an unfair labor law nor an example of a legal violation. It *may* violate your union agreement but you have to ask your union about that. It will never see a jury because it would be tossed out at summary judgment as unfair does not equal illegal. You have to have a legal violation first. Juries are not just referees who decide if an employer acted fairly or not.

I have no idea why they brought you back 2 years ago or what happened. It really does not matter. Most likely you were given a second chance through the union or some procedure outlined in the union agreement was not followed. That is why you have a union. I have dealt with union environments and it is not unusual to suspend/want to terminate someone for abusing breaks, and sometimes the employer agrees to a lesser penalty for first offense like a warning or shorter suspension. Wasn't there, no idea why they did what they did.

 

[cbg]

The likelihood is that no, they will not. But it depends very much on the exact circumstances and state law. You might want to run that question past a workers comp attorney. I wouldn't get my hopes up, though; while successful workers comp claims for any type of mental health issue are not unheard of, they are VERY rare.

 

[cbg]

Let me give you one example so you have an idea of what I mean by unfair labor laws at work. Say I take a 30 min break and am only untiled to 15 mins and I got suspended and terminated for taking a longer break then allowed and after fighting for myself and winning. I go back to work and I have to take a 15 min break but certain other employess take between 45 and 60 mins when there only entiled to 15 mins and nothing is said or done about that? is that not a violation of the labor law?

No, as a matter of fact. That is not a violation of labor law. There is no labor law anywhere in the US that says all employees must be treated identically or that someone who once violated a policy cannot be held to a different standard than other employees. That's not even close to a violation of labor law.