XpertHR Expands State Workers' Compensation Material
Author: Michael C. Jacobson, XpertHR Legal Editor
Developments in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Minnesota may affect how employers receive, handle or dispute workers' compensation claims.
Employers can use XpertHR and its up-to-date content to bolster education of employees who receive and handle workers' compensation reports from current employees, who correspond with insurance companies that provide workers' compensation coverage or who have a direct role in disputing workers' compensation claims either through alternative dispute resolution or litigation.
- In Villard v. Whitemarsh Continuing Care Ret. Cmty., +2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 177910 (E.D. Pa. 2012), a federal court applied Pennsylvania law to a workers' compensation retaliation claim after an employee was terminated three months following her work-related injury. Given that the employee provided evidence of unequal employee treatment, combined with the proximity in time between the report and the termination, the court allowed the retaliation claim to proceed.
- In Turner v. City of Paris, Kentucky, +2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181694 (E.D. Ky. 2012), a federal court applied Kentucky law to a workers' compensation retaliation claim in which an employee was terminated 11 months after his claim for workers' compensation benefits. The court reiterated the elements of a proper claim and found that the 11-month gap between the claim and the termination was not sufficient to establish "temporal proximity." Instead, the court found that terminations which occur within three months of a claim may be considered retaliatory.
- In Yalley v. Ozark Auto. Distribs., Inc., +2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 838 (D. Minn. 2013), a federal court applied Minnesota law to a workers' compensation retaliation claim. In this case, the employee alleged that he was told during his termination meeting that his workers' compensation claims were costing the company too much money. The court considered this direct evidence of workers' compensation retaliation and allowed the claim to proceed accordingly.
Additional Resources
Report a Workers' Compensation Incident
How to Manage Workers' Compensation Costs