permanent partial disability

[cristinak]

i have a claim with a lawyer for ppd, but what i would like to know is, can this hender me from getting another job. the ppd is for a wrist injury that i sustained working in a nursing home. I am currently going to school for surgical technology and if i try to get a job after the ppd claim is done, can that be a reason why they would not hire me.. do that look at this stuff before they offer a job to someone? i live in ky

 

[Beth3]

Employers do not have access to worker's compensation records other than their own. Nobody will know whether you receive a PPD settlement unless you tell them.

The only relevant issue is whether you can perform all the functions of whatever jobs you're pursuing with whatever limitations you have on your wrist.

 

[cristinak]

Thank you for your response. I dont really have any limitations on my wrist, I am currently doing clinicals in school and i have not had a problem as of yet, my job isnt going to be too difficult i dont think, i wont have to lift really heavy stuff. They dont ask you this information on application forms?

 

[Beth3]

It's possible something like that could be asked on an application form, although it's not common. It depends on the job/employer.

 

[cbg]

In nearly 25 years of HR, I have NEVER seen an application form that asked this.

 

[Beth3]

But I think you've only been in the service sector, cbg. In mfg, construction, etc., it's possible that a job application could include a question about any weight restrictions an applicant has although this could be pretty dicey given ADA implications.

 

[cbg]

I'm not entirely certain, but I think the ADA restricts an application form to asking if the employee has any limitations that would substantially limit their ability to do the job specifically being applied for. Thus a question on the application form, do you have any weight lifting restrictions, would violate the ADA, since not all applicants would be applying for positions which would require them to be doing heavy lifting.

 

[Lorane]

Take a look at employment applications in Kansas and Missouri. There are quite a number of them that ask if you have ever had a workmans comp claim.

 

[cbg]

Then there are many employers in Kansas and Missouri who are very foolish. Even if this is legal, and I am by no means certain that it is, that is information that they really do not want to know the answer to.

An employer should never ask a question that they do not NEED the answer to. The more information they ask, the more likely it is that eventually, some employee somewhere along the line is going to claim that the employer is "just waiting to fire me" because of that information, whether it is true or not.

An employer needs to know if the employee has any limitations that might hinder their ability to do the job. They do NOT need to know if the initial cause of the limitation was work related.