It is important to treat injured workers carefully. However, if someone has been hurt at work this does not mean that she is exempt from the company's policies. Just make sure that she is not singled out or being discriminated against because of the injury. It's an unfortunate thing to realize, but some employees will try to use the injury to their advantage by wrongfully thinking that they may now do whatever they want. They may think that they will not be disciplined since they can try to sue the company for the injury. You will cause a lot of problems by treating an employee who is injured on the job differently than one who was injured at home or experiencing any other medical condition. Remember that consistency is the key to fair employment practices.

Employees Who Refuse Work

It is common after a work-related injury for an employee to refuse to accept accommodations for modified duty. This was mentioned briefly earlier in this chapter. If your state gives employees the right to refuse modified duty, there is not much you can do. Otherwise, when this happens, discipline the employee for insubordination as you would anyone else who refuses a reasonable request from management. If they do not report to work, start your usual job-abandonment procedures.

A similar situation may arise with an employee who is released to return to full duty by a physician, but refuses to comply. Treat this scenario as you would any employee who will not perform her job or does not show up for work. Discipline can be up to and including employment termination. Without written orders for modified duty or a work release from a doctor, employees are expected to report to work and perform their usual duties.

Lack of Follow Up

Once an employee has filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits, she has an obligation to respond to correspondence from the employer and the insurance company. Additionally, she is responsible for showing up for doctor appointments and participating in physical therapy or any other treatment prescribed by the doctor. Failure to do so may result in a denial of the employee's claim. Advise your workers' compensation carrier if an employee does not play an active role in her recovery and efforts to return to work.

Workers' Compensation Fraud

Workers' compensation fraud has been on the upswing for several years and some states now have reform initiatives to crack down on offenders. This includes giving employers control over who provides medical care for injured employees and stricter penalties for everyone involved in taking advantage of the system.

Beware of employees who try to open a fraudulent workers' compensation claim because they feel that their employment is going to be terminated for cause. This is one reason why it is important to have a written procedure for reporting work-related injuries immediately, no matter how small. Every employee's personnel file should contain a signed acknowledgment of these procedures. A person who has been disciplined for poor performance, poor attendance, or insubordination may suddenly claim that they hurt themselves on the job ninety days ago and are now unable to work. But what a surprise — this is the first that you have heard of the injury. Having a policy in place may allow you to further discipline the employee for not reporting the injury ninety days ago and make a workers' compensation claim invalid.

Disgruntled former employees are no longer able to file workers' compensation claims after the termination of employment in some states. Before responding to correspondence from or on behalf of a former employee about a work-related injury that was not reported, contact your insurance company. The employee may have no basis for a claim.