Hands down, the biggest mistake California employers make is mishandling employees’ injuries, regardless of whether they are work-related.
At the Sherman Law Corporation, we are focused exclusively on helping California employers deal with these types of cases – so they can move forward and get back to work.
What Should A California Employer Do If an Employee Is Injured On The Job?
Most California employers understand if there is a work-related injury, they must immediately report it to workers’ compensation and file a claim.
That’s where everything ends and they await updates from either the workers’ compensation carrier or the employee on the employee’s return to work.
There are two other laws California employers who employ 5 or more employees must comply with:
- The Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), and
- The California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”)
Both of these Acts require interacting with the injured/disabled employee to determine if the employee can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodations and designating leave time for serious health conditions.
How Should A California Employer Ensure Compliance With These Laws?
While compliance with these laws is relatively easy, compliance is strict and failure to do so will result in an employee filing a panoply of claims that could include:
- disability discrimination,
- failure to provide reasonable accommodations,
- failure to engage in the interactive process,
- retaliation,
- wrongful termination or constructive discharge, and
- violations of CFRA
More importantly, an employer will gain control over an employee who is trying to dictate their return to work or take what feels like unlimited leaves of absences.
Contact Lisa Sherman Today
So, the next time an employee has an injury or medical condition that limits his/her ability to perform the essential functions of his/her job, contact Lisa Sherman at lisa@sherm-law.com or (323) 488-2087 so that you can comply.
