Employer Asking Me to Lie About Work Injury Of Another Employee

[graceous]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

OK, first of all I know this is wrong, unethical, possibly illegal Employer is furious at me because I did not tell an injured worker to tell the medical people who treated him to say that he was injured playing sports, not at work. Employee actually went to his normal physician, and it is hitting the fan because the payment is being questioned by the treating clinic, who claims this is worker's comp. There were also questions whether the employee's actions were within scope of his employment so employer thinks there is no liability on their part Does that matter? It occurred during the course of the work day. And, then I got a whole song and dance from top manager how a worker's comp claim will destroy the business.

Meanwhile, while I look for a new job, which is difficult in my field, what can I do to protect myself? I am going to take some time and document the conversations, including their cover story to get out of this being a worker's comp claim, and I am not going to lie if put in a position to tell someone what I know. I am not quitting my job, they can verbally abuse me all they want, but they are going to have to fire me so I can at least have EDD benefits to look for new work.

What exactly is my liability here? I do know the truth of what happened to this employee, and, in my mind, it was a work accident that qualifies as worker's comp. Honestly, I have never had to grapple with such issues of dishonestly as at this place of employment.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

OK, first of all I know this is wrong, unethical, possibly illegal Employer is furious at me because I did not tell an injured worker to tell the medical people who treated him to say that he was injured at home, not at work, and did not tell this to a place where he was treated. There were also questions whether the employee's actions were within scope of his employment. Does that matter? It occurred during the course of the work day. And, then I got a whole song and dance from top manager how a worker's comp claim will destroy the business.

Meanwhile, while I look for a new job, which is difficult in my field, what can I do to protect myself? I am going to take some time and document the conversations, but what do I do if I am put in the position of having to lie outright about this to an insurance company? Can I quit my job on some principle and file for unemployment benefits? What is my liability here? Honestly, I have never had to grapple with such issues of dishonestly at this place of employment.

You need to tell the truth. Your employer is also being a drama queen because a worker's comp claim will NOT destroy a business.