Sue last employer

[amommy]

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

My husband got hurt at work a little over a year ago. They put him workmans comp for two month. During this time he went to their doctors and they said there was nothing wrong and sent him back to work. They did no xrays or mri.
He was still in pain and could not do much because of his back pain. He told them he still hurt and needs to be put back. He contacted the safety manager several time and he didn't do anything. Always an excuse couldn't get a hold or something.
My husbands personal dr prescribed him a pain killer Lortab, low dose 7.5mg.
He has been taking it for over a year. In October his medication was stolen from his lunch bag and he went to Human resources and filed a complaint. That's when all hell broke loose.

1st she said she wasn't going to investigate because she didn't feel like watching hours worth of break room video. she also told my husband that his dr was a "crack pot" for giving him that many pills. (she is miss know it all and apparently knows exactly how many pills a dr can prescribe)

We called her supervisor at corporate and left a message stating she refused to investigate and the only way my husband can get his medication refilled is if they do and he NEEDS it for his back pain.

The next day my husband went to work they interrogated him and accused him of lying and giving or selling the pills. May I point out they still had not watched any video. He was suspended until further notice.
During his suspension we went to a workman's comp lawyer and filed workmans comp. A week after his suspension after waiting and waiting for a phone call we get a fedex letter saying they fired him because he did not disclose to his supervisor that he was taking prescription medication, and it is a policy of work that they do.
Now let me point a few things out. there was no investigation and he was not suspended until we called headquarters. Human resources retaliated by finding a way to fire him

His medication never affected his work. The prescription says "use care while using machinery" not do not use. He got hurt at work and needed it and they were literally refusing him treatment.

He got denied unemployment and appeal we had last week was also denied. Main reason not telling supervisor he was taking medication and that is a policy. During the appeals meeting Human resources stated she finally did watch the video. though she admitted that there was an employee in the break room fridge for too long and that she could not see what he was doing she still says my husband is lying and that he sold his medicine. She said she asked the employee and he says he dropped his cellphone and was looking for it, of course HE is telling the truth. I recently found a sept 2009 EEOC case stating that it's illegal for a company to demand that their employees tell them their medication as it violates civil law and the American with disabilities act. The lady at the unemployment should have known this and he should have been granted unemployment.

Now that he is going through a real workers comp person he has had an x-ray MRI and many many test and they all say he should be in a lot more pain than he claims he is. He needs surgery. He is pretty much disabled and cannot do labor work (which is pretty much what he does. he was a machine operator at a plant)

We are going to file another appeal for unemployment stating our EEOC findings. My Question is can we sue the company for wrongful discharge and the whole workman's comp run around?
What are our options in all this?

Thanks

 

[amommy]

WOW!
Nothing! Not even a we're screwed.
No one has anything to say about this one?

 

[ecmst12]

He can pursue the workers comp claim, though he should have been doing that WAY sooner. If he was required to disclose narcotics to the supervisor and did not, then it's pretty cut and dry that it was not a wrongful termination. He can appeal the unemployment denial but he won't be eligible to draw benefits until he is physically able to return to work, even if his claim is approved.

 

[abaga]

Refill of Medication



Have your husband call the Drs. office and see if filing a police report for the stolen medication would be enough to get a refill of his medicine. I see a pain MD and if medication is lost or stolen, you can get a new Rx with a police report being filed and a copy of that report brought in to the office for the Dr. to review. This is accepted as it is illegal to file a police report (that is not to say it hasn't been done before, as it has I'm sure). Further, this is not something they allow to happen often at all. They will only accept this one time. If you come back again at another time and state your Rx was stolen again, you are pretty much S.O.L!

I hope this helps with part of your question. As ecmst stated, if the requirement is that any employee on pain medication is required to report it and he did not, then these would be grounds for termination. He went against the policy of the company.

I can tell you in the State of GA at least, it is the STATE that makes the unemployment benefits decision, NOT the employer. I am a Manager and have been through unemployment hearings with employees and as the employer, our HR dept would send the file to The Dept of Labor Unemployment Division, along with the policy we feel the employee violated that caused their termination. At the hearing, the Hearing Officer will question both the terminated employee as well as the employer. They will then, after the hearing, make a determination based on the information gained at the hearing as well as information that was given to them by the employer and the employee. You do have the option of filing an appeal with the Dept of Labor, Unemployment Division.

Again, I hope this helps.