work harrassing while on workers comp

[9fingers]

What is the name of your state?CA
SITUATION: *I am a sales rep for a beer distributing company. I was helping a driver unload his truck and when I closed the roll-down door I almost completely severed off the tip of my middle finger. I had to have a 2-½ hr surgery; the nail had to be placed back under the skin, 20 stitches and a temporary pin protruding from the tip to hold the finger together.
*The incident occurred on a Friday and the following (Monday was a holiday) Tuesday I returned to work on “light duty” status. I was on heavy pain meds and HR (knowingly) sent me to pick up another injured employee and take them to the doc. 2 days later HR and management assigned me back to my sales route with someone riding with me. My duties are very physical, using a 2-wheeler, stacking & stocking cans & bottles and constant driving.
*While out on my route I had a manager riding with me, and he almost dumped a 2 wheeler full of product so I unconsciously stopped it and bumped my finger badly.
*3 weeks later I had to have a follow up surgery to remove the stitches and temporary pin and consequently my nail had to be removed as well. The surgeon said my finger was not healing was well as it should be; I explained to him that my work still had me out working and he decided to put me off for 2 weeks on works comp.
*2 days after the surgery my work was participating at an air show and my wife wanted to take our child to see the planes so we went & I saw several people from work. 4 days after the surgery I went to watch a softball game, I had organized the team the month before and it was sponsored by work and I was the coach. Several other employees were questioned regarding why I was there and what was I physically doing (I was sitting on the bench). * 7 days after the surgery I rcvd a call from works comp insurance comp. saying they wanted me to go back to my doctor and get released on light duty; I did so even though my finger was still hurting.
*1st day back to work “light duty” back out on the route. Supposed to have someone (managers) with me constantly but I don’t. Managers have meetings so I am running route alone about ½ the day. Doing a lot of physical work, using hand.
QUESTIONS:* Is it legal to put me back out in the field while on light duty with no help for ½ day? We just had several people go out on disability and they requested to come back for light duty & HR denied them and said to stay home. Is this legal?
*HR & management have been saying comments & giving me looks & I’m feeling harassed. They say ‘you not that injured’, one mgr to another in front of me said ‘let the 9finger boy do some work for a change’. And also talking to other employees ridiculing me.
* Is there any course of action I can take or do I have to continue to “ignore” it? I have been keeping a log of comments and time out in the field alone while on light duty. I can not talk to HR because she is the one who has started the whole thing!
thank you for any ideas or input!

 

[Beth3]

There's no law that requires an employer to observe your work restrictions but they are stupid not to. Failure to comply with your doctor's restrictions means that your injury will take that much longer to heal and consequently be that much more expensive for the company.

If you can't do the work and/or it's aggravating your finger, then go back and see the doctor and have him give you new restrictions and then take it to your employer. Make SURE the restrictions are specific. Too many doctor's notes read "light duty only" leaving the employer to try to figure out what that means. Restrictions should be specific as to exactly how much bending, standing, lifting, pushing, pulling an injured employee can tolerate and what any weight limits are - 5 lbs, 20 lbs, etc.

As to the harassment you are experiencing, in my opinion it falls short of violating any WC regulations and you have not experienced any adverse employment action (i.e. discharge, demotion, etc.) as a result of your injury. Since your employer is not responding to your injury the way one would hope for, I do suggest you see a WC attorney just to get an opinion on your situation and to have in abeyance should legal representation become necessary down the road.

Regarding your question about light duty for WC injured employees and other employees who have gone out on disability (I presume you mean STD and these are not other WC claims), it's not uncommon for employers to handle WC claims differently from other situations where employees are requesting light duty. (a) There's usually only a limited amount of light duty work to go around and (b) lost time WC claims tend to be much more costly to an employer because of the way WC premiums are calculated so employers tend to be much more accommodating in finding light duty work for WC injured employees than for others. It's perfectly legal.

 

[faigele]

if your doctor determines what you can and cannot do, and the employer does not honor these restrictions, leave work and go back to the doctor. this is the advice i would give my client. in addition, you are still going to the "insurance" doctor and he will be highly motivated to return you to work pretty much at all costs. this is my experience with insurance doctors. if you were injured more than 30 days ago, find your own doctor - you will be better off. lastly, i believe you should retain representation - it will benefit you in the long run, as you will have someone advocating on your behalf, unlike the insurance adjuster.

 

[9fingers]

I sincerely thank you for the replies. Its horrible how large (& small) companies are allowed to harrass their employees who have been hurt on the job; but I guess I'll just have to put up with it to keep food on the table for my family! I think I will consult with an attorney; because this is a workers comp case I was under the impression that I had to first contact OSHA, is this true?

 

[faigele]

You do not have to contact osha in order to bring a workers' compensation claim. if you feel that there was some sort of safety violation in that the door rolled down on your finger, and that the employer subjected you to a hazardous situation, you could certainly contact osha. in fact, if you retain counsel you can discuss this situation with him/her as well, in the context of your wc claim, because, depending on the reason that the door closed on your fingers, such as if the door was malfunctioning and complaints were made to the management and nothing was done, the could possibly be a cause of action for serious and wilful misconduct. this is simply a possiblity and something for your attorney to look into. but, again, you can certainly bring a wc claim without involving osha.