Workers’ Compensation - When Must an Injured Worker Search for a New Job?
by Michael Goodman
(Atlanta, Georgia USA)
You hurt your back on the job lifting a heavy box. Your employer sent you to one of its favorite “occupational medicine” clinics where you are viewed with suspicion. Medication and some very perfunctory physical therapy was of no real help.
You were directed by the workers’ compensation insurance adjuster to a skeptical orthopedic physician. Lo and behold, he orders an MRI and an explanation for your ongoing pain is found. You are placed on light duty status and told you cannot lift more than fifteen (15) pounds. Your company does not have any light duty work for you. You are now receiving weekly workers’ compensation checks. Must you look for work elsewhere?
The seminal Georgia case of Maloney v. Gordon Farms addresses when an injured worker must seek alternative employment. In the above example, you would not be required to seek alternative employment. Nor would you have an obligation to seek employment if you were on “no duty” work status because of your work related injuries.
The obligation to actively search for a job begins only when you have been given a light duty job by your employer and discharged from that light duty job for reasons unrelated to your injury.
Examples of such unrelated discharges would be general layoffs of large classes of employees, termination for insubordination or violation of company rules. Oftentimes employers and their insurers use pretextual reasons to essentially manufacture an excuse to fire an injured worker and deprive him of weekly workers’ compensation checks.
It is important to consult with an attorney while on light duty work status to help avoid these pretextual discharges.
Assuming a valid discharge unrelated to your workers’ compensation injury, how does an employee satisfy his Maloney burden to demonstrate a diligent job search?
Keep detailed records of your job search! We advise our clients to keep records of the following: date of search, name of business contacted, source of lead (friend, colleague, newspaper, internet), manner of contact (phone, resume, in person, email), persons contacted and details of any conversation or reply.
If the contact is made by email, keep the emails. Job searches should be conducted periodically. It is not enough to contact thirty businesses in three days and then present those results at a hearing six months later.
New and expanded searches should be made at least every few weeks. Follow up your prior inquiries, but make sure you add new companies to your search.
Armed with multiple searches of multiple companies from multiple sources, your chances of prevailing at a hearing are greatly enhanced.
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To learn more visit: GoodmanLawAtl.com
Michael Goodman
Goodman & Goodman, LLP
770.952.0400
