{"id":8922,"date":"2025-01-08T11:48:27","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T17:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uawlocal2250.net\/live\/?p=8922"},"modified":"2025-01-09T10:48:43","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T16:48:43","slug":"important-layoffs-weather-and-workers-compensation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uawlocal2250.net\/live\/index.php\/2025\/01\/08\/important-layoffs-weather-and-workers-compensation\/","title":{"rendered":"IMPORTANT: Layoffs, Weather, and Workers Compensation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"m_-3824488398527058273text-text-section-0\">\n<p>This important information regarding Workers Compensation is from Mike Goldberg, one of the attorney&#8217;s that attends union meetings.\u00a0 Thank you Mike for sharing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<div id=\"m_-3824488398527058273text-text-section-1\">\n<div id=\"m_-3824488398527058273text-text-section-1\">\n<p><b>Layoffs, Weather, and Workers\u2019 Compensation<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">By Michael C. Goldberg, Esq.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The start of a new year is always a good time to review things that might affect your workers\u2019 compensation claim. In this case, the focus is on layoffs and weather-related conditions away from and at your workplace. Knowing this information can support your claim and help you receive the benefits you deserve.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Layoff<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">First, the good news: If you\u2019re currently off work by your doctor\u2019s orders and receiving care and treatment for a work-related injury, but are then laid off, your weekly workers\u2019 compensation benefits will continue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But you need to be aware of these two sneaky maneuvers employers may try.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sometimes employers will tell you to apply for disability or sub pay during the layoff. This is wrong. They may also insist you must apply for unemployment. You can\u2019t apply for unemployment if you\u2019re not able to work and are receiving weekly workers\u2019 compensation pay.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your employer shouldn\u2019t put you on layoff status for your pay even if they say they would have put you on light duty if the plant was open. They may try to make this argument, but it\u2019s not correct and you should fight it. If no work was available due to restricted duty when you were off work before the layoff, no work can be claimed available during the layoff, regardless of what the employer says.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Do note that it\u2019s still your responsibility to provide medical updates to your employer. If you\u2019re released during the layoff, you\u2019ll then need to apply for alternative benefits like unemployment and sub pay as your workers\u2019 compensation benefits will end.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Weather-Related Conditions<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you sustain an injury that\u2019s directly related to the weather conditions at or near your place of work, here\u2019s what to know.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The general rule is that you\u2019re not covered under workers\u2019 compensation for any accident that occurs going to or from work. So, if you\u2019re driving to work and have a car accident due to bad weather, that\u2019s not covered.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">However, once you enter the parking lot, that rule can change. Any injury that occurs in a parking lot owned or controlled by the employer, may result in workers\u2019 compensation coverage. Your accident still must be a result of a dangerous condition in the lot, but it is a possible claim. If you slip on ice that was in the lot or step into a hole, those claims should be covered. Claims based on simply losing your balance or slipping because the lot was slick after it rained are much more difficult to bring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Once you enter the building, should you sustain an injury slipping on a wet floor created by the outside conditions, your employer is typically responsible. You must always report all injuries to your employer and document what caused you to slip or fall. It\u2019s not always obvious what occurred, and the burden of proof is on you, the person claiming injury.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hopefully with this knowledge, you can take steps to minimize issues and make sure you\u2019re managing your workers\u2019 compensation claim correctly. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out and ask me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Michael Goldberg is the owner of Michael C. Goldberg Law, L.L.C. His firm focuses on workers\u2019 compensation, civil litigation, and labor law. Mike\u2019s also a member of CWA Local 6300. Contact him at (314) 824-0350, mike@michaelgoldberglaw.com, or visit his website at michaelgoldberglaw.com.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.pixabay.com\/photo\/2012\/04\/14\/17\/22\/note-34670_1280.png\" alt=\"Free note thumbtack reminder vector\" \/><\/div>\n<div>(graphic by Ciker-Free Vector @ Pixabay)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This important information regarding Workers Compensation is from Mike Goldberg, one of the attorney&#8217;s that attends union meetings.\u00a0 Thank you Mike for sharing. Layoffs, Weather, and Workers\u2019 Compensation By Michael C. Goldberg, Esq. The start of a new year is always a good time to review things that might affect your workers\u2019 compensation claim. In [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[1069,237],"class_list":["post-8922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-labor-laws","tag-mike-goldberg","tag-workers-compensation"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uawlocal2250.net\/live\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uawlocal2250.net\/live\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uawlocal2250.net\/live\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uawlocal2250.net\/live\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uawlocal2250.net\/live\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8922"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/uawlocal2250.net\/live\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8927,"href":"https:\/\/uawlocal2250.net\/live\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8922\/revisions\/8927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uawlocal2250.net\/live\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uawlocal2250.net\/live\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uawlocal2250.net\/live\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}