Time Off/Absences & Worker's Comp
E Wart
719 Posts
We have an employee in TX who is exempt. (TX's W/C is a world unto itself.) He was injuried in 1999 and had surgery. In 2001 we found out the day before that he was scheduled for another surgery which he said is from another (which is actually his third) W/C injury. However, we contend he never told us about another injury and infact he said in passing that it might have happened when lifting his child. He was out about six weeks and we placed him on FMLA and didn't pay him for this time because he took a lump sum indemnity settlement on the second worker's comp claim for loss time, and if this is related, we (insurance carrier) wouldn't owe more indemnity. (If it ends up being a separate w/c injury, w/c carrier might owe loss time.) Anyway, he has been back at work for about 3 months and is now starting to miss time again. He "implies" to folks in conversation that it is from his w/c injury. We have notified our W/C folks, but they don't know what to do yet as far as the indemnity is concerned since his hearing with w/c board hasn't occurred that hopefully will determine which claim to "have this injury and loss time go to". Our carrier will have to handle this after the hearing. Meanwhile we have continued paying him his regular pay even when he leaves early or doesn't come in at all (a day here and there), because he is an exempt employee and we don't normally "dock" their wages.
Any suggestions on how we (the employer) should handle his pay and his absences until the W/C can be settled. [This has been a mess keeping up with and I won't even go into it. W/C carrier didn't even know he was having surgery until we called them the day before it was happening. Employee doesn't talk with W/C insurance carrier but only the Board and doctor fails to ge info to the insurance carrier as they should.]
Any ideas on how we should handle his continued absense and salary would be appreciated. (He has already used us his time off for the year in taking trips with family, not for medical problems. In fact we gave him some extra comp days because he had used his all up and wanted extra time off and we shouldn't dock exempt employees time.)
EWart in GA
Any suggestions on how we (the employer) should handle his pay and his absences until the W/C can be settled. [This has been a mess keeping up with and I won't even go into it. W/C carrier didn't even know he was having surgery until we called them the day before it was happening. Employee doesn't talk with W/C insurance carrier but only the Board and doctor fails to ge info to the insurance carrier as they should.]
Any ideas on how we should handle his continued absense and salary would be appreciated. (He has already used us his time off for the year in taking trips with family, not for medical problems. In fact we gave him some extra comp days because he had used his all up and wanted extra time off and we shouldn't dock exempt employees time.)
EWart in GA
