Diversity of workers comp cases show necessity of experienced counsel
One thing about workers comp cases–the issues can be so broad that you never know what oddity may pop up.
For example, regular readers are aware that most states include undocumented workers in workers comp protection. We discussed a couple of such cases here, one from Michigan and one from Nebraska.
Undocumented workers protest in Michigan
Now Michigan is back in the news. Posted March 11 at WILX.com, this brief describes a protest at the state Capitol, including “[s]ome [who] were illegal immigrants, rallying for the state to grant them rights to workers’ compensation.”
State Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) has introduced a bill that would grant such coverage and was quoted as saying, “We’re only one of two states in the nation that does not allow workers that are undocumented to compensate when they are injured on the job.”
As might be expected, not all her colleagues agree with the idea, indicating its passage has a snowball’s chance…
Rep. Rick Jones (R-Grand Ledge) said, ““The only thing we should be giving illegal immigrants is a bus ride home.”
Jones, taking a “Michigan-workers-first” stance, brought up bogus Social Security IDs and the expense to companies to pay into the workers comp system.
But Tlaib “and others” countered with a point to ponder: pointing out “that requiring companies to pay workers’ comp might discourage them from hiring illegal immigrants in the first place.”
Ex-Deputy Warden cites nepotism as stressful
Now here’s a doozy, from a March 10 post with a Wilkes-Barre (PA) dateline: everybody knows somebody who’s felt disadvantaged by on-the-job nepotism. But in this case, former Deputy Warden Sam Hyder, Luzerne County Correctional Facility, says nepotism was a major reason for the workplace problems that should leave him eligible for $800 a week in workers comp benefits.
“Hyder claims he suffers from work-related stress due to pressures brought on by” County Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla’s “hiring requests and threats, the suicide of a co-worker, his attendance at an inmate’s autopsy and the publicity he received for outing a drug-dealing prison guard.”
Petrilla has denied not only pushing Hyder to hire unqualified cronies but also says she did not single out Hyder for political reprisal.
According to the article, “Hyder was on medical leave from Aug. 28, 2009 until he was laid off from his $74,263 job in late January 2010. He testified Feb. 2 about how he ‘blacked out’ one day at work from the stress and suffers from anxiety, panic attacks and nightmares. On Tuesday, the county countered with five defense witnesses.”
At least one other employee, a secretary promoted to assistant business manager, seems to back up Hyder’s version, indicating that a “hiring list of the politically connected trumped applications from other qualified candidates.”
Said Jaqueline Grimes: “Everybody, commissioners, judges, magistrates, police officers, would be saying, ‘Give this person a shot. (Prison management) wanted to know, whose person it was. ‘John Doe is my guy, this one is (former Manager/Chief Clerk) Sam Guesto’s.’”
Fired workers say boss pushed her religion on them
And from Ohio, a March 3 AP account reminds us that freedom of religion just might encompass freedom from religion:
“After a sweeping scandal nearly five years ago that cost the state’s insurance fund for injured workers $300 million because of investments in Beanie Babies, rare coins and other risky assets, Ohio beefed up oversight and created a panel to help lawmakers look out for the health of the fund.
“Now, three years after lawmakers created the Ohio Workers’ Compensation Council to advise them on bills involving workers comp issues, the council finds itself entangled in chaos with a director accused of firing the entire staff amid allegations that she pushed her religion on employees.
“The three fired workers each sent letters to council members Tuesday accusing Director Virginia McInerney of wrongful discharge, religious discrimination and harassment, age discrimination and retaliation.”
Described as an occasional guest on “The 700 Club” who also was active in a large evangelical church, McInerney was said to have led prayers at work and to have passed out religious CDs and at least one religiously themed book.
The piece quotes a former staff attorney as writing in a letter that “It became increasingly clear that the Director was judging employees not on professional performance but on the quality of their faith, according to her beliefs.”
McInerney denies the allegations and says she can’t comment on an ongoing case, but “that she saw no alternative under the law but to fire them.”
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Whether you’re an injured employee or an aggrieved employer, if you’re facing legal problems regarding workplace injuries, be sure to seek counsel with attorneys trained and experienced in workers’ compensation. Here’s some resources:
