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Work Related Injuries

nicholenichole 5 Posts
in FMLA/ADA/Workers’ Comp Vote Up0Vote Down
I work in a small company (less than 100 employees) that is trying to get some sort of safety plan back in place. It seems that they have gone astray from the previous one. We have had two employees have accidents, one not serious at all, the employee fell out of a chair and hurt his bottom, (he was out for two days) and the other was a sprained ankle in which the employee is off for a week. The "head" of the safety committee wants them both to be written up. I feel that just having a talk with the guy that fell out of the chair and documenting the conversation should be enough, but, my concern is the other guy. Is a verbal suffice for him considering he has been accident free for the last five years? I think his being off work for a week is punishment enough. These guys both work in the same dept. and if one is treated more serious than the other I think we could get in trouble. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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  • Theresa Gegen TXTheresa Gegen TX 814 Posts
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    Unless your company has facts to show that the accidents were the result of unsafe acts of the employees, I cannot imagine why you would write them up.

    If your company carriers workers comp, writing up employees because of work place injuries can cause claims for retaliation. So unless the company has some factual evidence that the employee engaged in an unsafe act, the company should not "write them up."

    The company could take other actions, however, that are not punitive. For example, the company could retrain the employees on the safety procedures and policies.

    Good Luck!!
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