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:

Workers compensation basics

Denial of benefits

Choosing an attorney

Three recent news items reflect the breadth and depth of disparity among the states’ regulations concerning workers’ compensation.

The first and third are from California and Florida, the second from Pennsylvania; taken together they reveal a shocking disconnect between treatment of perps and victims.

Roofer injured in 2003

According to a March 1 article in the Orange County (CA) Register, roofing contractor Michael Amzie Hollings “is expected to be sentenced to three years in state prison” after pleading guilty to various charges that boiled down to trying to hide workers, thereby paying nothing to the state’s workmen’s comp fund. No word from the Register on how long the scheme lasted, but it began unraveling in 2003 when a worker “fell from a roof and filed a workers’ compensation claim,” which resulted “in a denial of benefits,” according to prosecutors. The account also makes no mention of whether the injured worker ultimately received benefits–or even treatment.

On the one hand, the plea agreement shows how long such cases can slog through the system; on the other, even though Hollings faced a maximum sentence of 21 years and eight months, the expected three-year sentence should serve as a red flag for those who attempt to run similar schemes–at least, in California.

Agency owner dodges more than 1,000 counts

In another plea agreement reported today at pittsburghlive.com, 80-year-old William R. McCandless has apparently slipped through the system with a pretty sweet deal. Charged (along with his business) of “1,054 counts of failure to insure” from August 2006 through July 2009, McCandless “entered a general plea of no contest to a single count of failure to insure,” which is expected to net him a mere $3,000 fine plus probation.

One presumes the agency’s workers are now covered–and, of course, there’s no mention of anyone falling from a roof–but, still…more than a thousand counts? That must be one happy old guy.

Holdup victim awaiting surgery for more than a year

The next case is flat out tragic and has the father of an injured man taking on reform of Florida’s statutes, which were altered to prevent abuse by scam-running workers.

Posted March 01 at myfoxtampabay.com, this account tells the tale of Sam McGinnis, a drug store clerk gunned down during a holdup that netted $88 in Nov. 2008.

“We’ve all seen video of people caught on tape playing up their injuries and claiming benefits: people walking with a walker, and later walking just fine, or using or a cane where now you see it, now you don’t,” writes investifative reporter Doug Smith.

“But there’s nothing funny or phony about the video of Sam McGinnis, a clerk behind the counter at a drug store in Tampa, Florida on November 29, 2008. A camera inside the store shows a holdup.”

Cursed at by the robber and shot twice–for not moving fast enough–McGinnis still has a slug lodged in his back and remains “in constant pain,” with “[e]ven the simplest tasks . . . a challenge . . . and he says the workers’ compensation system is compounding his agony.”

Apparently, Florida’s worker-abuse reform went too far: Not only have the new regs have resulted in denial of surgery that would help McGinnis but also he’s been prevented from using his own private insurance–because he was hurt on the job.

“McGinnis hasn’t been able to get surgery that his doctors say could ease his pain because so far workers’ compensation won’t approve it. McGinnis says he had very good private insurance, but because he was hurt at work, he can’t use it.”

The article also says “McGinnis will need a lifetime of care.”

McGinnis’ father has begun a campaign to change the regs, creating a dual-track system, with one track for more routine on-the-job injuries and another for “for people who are catastrophically injured. . .” The father (Facebook profile here) has launched a Web site with a brief background and links to a youtube video and an online petition.

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Regardless of whether you’ve been hurt on the job, it’s wise to know the basics of workers compensation in case you, a friend or family member need to file a claim in the future. If you do get hurt, you should be aware of the first things to do or what to tell a co-worker who has been injured.

Sometimes an injured employee takes all the correct steps but still has trouble getting the claim taken care of; in that case here’s some information for problems with denial of benefits. If legal help is needed to help with the case, be sure to speak to a trained, experienced attorney.