Workman's Comp.

[jmc]

This is not my cup of tea when it comes to laws, however I do know that there are federal and state guidelines when it comes to workman's comp. So looking for insight on a situation my brother-in-law is dealing with right now, because I think he is in a pickle.

My brother-in-law is a certified Class A trucker, working for this loading plant in MA. The other day he fell off the side of a flatbed truck, injuring himself to the point a worker drove him to the ER (Supervisor refused to call Medics).

Turns out he bruised alot of ribs, and bruised his right lung (which can be pretty dangerous).

He was in the hospital for 2 days before being released, and was informed (from his employer) that it would be in his interest to return to work right away. Since workman comp doesn't kick in until 2 weeks AFTER he is out of work, and at that time the pay is not retro active to the two weeks missed. They also decided to use his 2 personal days (without permission) to cover his lost days at work due to being in the hospital.

Is this even remotely correct? I always thought workman's comp was at least retroactive, and the using personal days due to work injury did not sound right either.

[Acturus]

I can't comment on MA laws for WC, but that sounds similar to a type of short-term disability filing.

At my job (private company in FL), we can have short term disability coverage, but it doesn't kick in until after a period of time not working. During that time, I'm expected to cover it out of my days off. My ST Disability is not retroactive.

Now, Florida WC covers the medical expenses incurred through job-related illness or injury, so I assume MA is the same way. Your B-I-L should have his medical expenses covered through the WC system.

[Nephlite]

Workplace injuries must be reported if the company is unionized. Ask if they have a injury reporting packet for their human resources department and if not, get a labor lawyer. Might be screwed if this isn't the case. Workman's comp usually uses sick days unless you have disability.

[Melena]

Essentially your out your first few days of pay. This is to try to deter fraudulent claims. That said they should have a means of reporting it to the HR division of his employer. Since he's a truck driver, i'm guessing he's union. If he is, he needs to get on the phone with his union rep ASAP.

[aurik]

This is why unions exist. The union should provide someone to answer these questions. Without a union, it's really up to the employment agreement in place (as well as the laws of the state, obviously).

In many places, vacation / sick time has been combined into this idea of "personal days", so this would generally be an appropriate use of them.