Employment Application

seeleyhr

Question: Was just reading in the magazine "What's Working in Human Resources" October 18 edition that employers can ask whether or not a potential employee has ever filed a worker's compensation claim and if they ever lost work time because of it. They warned, however, that you cannot ask about any claims arising from the injury.

Does anyone out there ask this question on their employment applications.

LindaE

We don't ask this on our app. I was taught not to ask this until the offer had been made. Please weigh in, gurus!

mwild31

Can't ask it in Washington State.

seeleyhr

Checked this out with the experts at ADP (payroll processors and background check experts). They said once an offer is made you can ask the question and they even provided me with a form to have them fill out. We have been getting stung lately.

mwild31

Once you hire someone you can ask their age, marital status, whether they have kids, previous injuries, on and on and on. However, it's what you do with that information that's important. If there's an adverse employment action, look out, you're in legal hot water again. I guess the question really is, what does your company hope to do with the worker comp. information once they receive it? x:-)

E Wart

I have asked this after a person was hired. In Georgia, we have a second injury trust fund with w/c (which will be ending within the next year or so). If you know "before an injury occurs" that an employee has had prior injury/illness and you still hire them, and they have additional related injuries, you might be able to get w/c payments back from the second injury trust fund. That was the reasoning behind finding out this (after they were hired.)
You should not ask before hired. Doesn't matter if they have as long as they are physically/mentally etc able to do the job you have open.
In some states if a person has a w/c injury and they are hired by another company the medical stays open from the old injury (if the injury continues to give them problems, in some states it becomes a new w/c injury for the new company. You need to find out how your state handles it... probably becomes a new injury.
E Wart