Worker's Comp issue. My worker is still coming to work although she is not suppose to. [View all]

I just found this out too.

So outline of events,

Sept mid-month, she injures herself, comes back the next day and works and then takes a couple of days off.

November mid-month, I find out that she has been to the emergency room twice after her injury and is in need of physical therapy. OK, Worker's Comp claim filed.

Today, I find out that the physical therapist is upset with her for continuing to work. I guess she is not supposed to be at work.

I think the best thing to do is to send her home tomorrow, pay her for the day, and ask her to be get a doctor's release to work.

She is young in her late twenty's and has a young child. I cannot in good conscience let her continue to work if she is that injured.

But I know a few things are getting in her way. Mostly an ex-husband that is not keep up his end of the bargain for her kid. Also, she is new to this country and hasn't quite got a handle on California labor law. That's ok, that's my job and I work very hard to keep things to the letter of the law, or in a way that benefits the workers. Fairness to the worker is my utmost priority. The money we get from the state is dictated and we have to spend 85% of our budget on the workers. Awesome stuff because we can pay workers well and provide awesome top of the line benefits. Things not typically associated with small businesses. Usually the opposite.

What can I do to help her? I cannot allow her to injure herself to the point where she cannot work at all. Worker's Comp is only going to pay her 65%, or something like that, for the time she takes off because of the injury. And that is not going to cut it for her to live on. Can I pay her anything to make up the difference? She is caught in a financial hardship not of her own making, and I don't want to see the quality of life she works so hard to provide for her son deteriorate in the slightest.


And just for clarification, I do the admin and do not work directly with her. The client is the person she spends most of her time with. We do Supported living services, ie, in home support of people with disabilities. Most of what I am hearing is from the client--so you know not always the clearest channel.

help?