Possible workers comp fraud

[Anon636]

Hi new here,
I run a couple restaurants and recently brought on a prep cook to cut meat for a trial period of one week. I told the employee we would give him a shot and see how he does. He works that Tuesday, he does ok, I tell him we don't need him Wednesday and to come Thursday. That Thursday he gets hurt at his other job. Some type of back injury. His full time job is evidently supposed to pay for his workers comp of his part time even though he only worked one day with us on a trial period? He wants me to put in writing that we were going to schedule shifts for him beyond the date of his injury, which was of no guarantee. He is suing workers comp or possibly his company for not paying his shifts at our place of employment. What I want to know is if I should report him to workers comp fraud, or if I should do nothing, or write a letter with the truth that all his shifts were discretionary and we never promised or finalized any shifts and it was made clear that his work was trial only. He was paid for his single shift and we have not scheduled him since.
Thank you for the helps guys. State is MN

[Harold Mansfield]

I've had to do this before. Luckily I had a corporate office that guided me on what they needed from me and they handled it from there. Here's what I think I remember from speaking to corporate about it. ( just remember that I'm not a lawyer).

If he has an attorney or Workers Comp themselves are asking for you to write a letter, then write a letter with the truth and send it directly to who is requesting the information. You're done.

If he's personally asking, I'd say "No", or have an attorney or WC contact you. Maybe just to cover your bases contact an attorney and pay for the hour to get an understanding of your rights and responsibilities.

You could also call Workers Comp themselves and ask without divulging any identifying information about the employee. Just as a business owner with questions.

No, DO NOT submit a lie or false information just to get rid of him. Play it straight.

[Anon636]

Yes he is personally asking me, I would not lie but I'm not going to give him a letter saying we were going to schedule him when we clearly weren't. So I will not write this up for him and now I am considering calling workers comp fraud to ask their opinion.

[nealrm]

I don't think this is a case of fraud as much as a case where he wants to be compensated for potential work with you and he maybe over-estimated his chances of getting more work with you beyond the initial one week trial. While the additional hours were not guaranteed, the question is would you have continued to employ him if he wasn't hurt. You told him you would try him for a week, and told him to come in on Thursday. At the very least he should be compensated for Thursday. Since you asked him to come back, it would also be reasonable to request for compensation for a week. That is work that he would have performed, if he wasn't hurt. As for payment beyond a week, be honest. State that was not determined at the time of his injury and he didn't work long enough with you for you to make that determination. Avoid assuming that this is a case of fraud.

[Harold Mansfield]

I know we have at least one attorney around here. I'm sure he'll chime in soon with his opinion. Also plenty of people here with staffs of all sizes. Just stay tuned and I'm sure you'll get more opinions and suggestions.

[Anon636]

Hopefully! Thanks all.

[CCAdamson]

It doesn't sound like he is committing fraud he is just seeking compensation for all work lost. Meaning he wants what he is due from his regular job and his PT job (you), doesn't mean fraud. How were the terms of you hiring him? Is it clear he is a temporary worker or was this a good chance to be hired? Does he understand that even though he did good one day and you asked him back a 2nd day doesn't mean long term employment? In his head he possibly thought you liked his performance and would keep him on.

That being said, you are under no obligation to write him or the WC provider a letter about this situation. If you receive a call from an attorney or the WC provider asking you for information you share the truth. I deal with WC all the time, people want to maximize the amount of money they will receive. As employers we tend to assume people are trying to commit some type of fraud, and sometimes they are, but many times it is legit. I would say in your case you have no obligations to do anything until asked by an authority not the employee.

[Anon636]

His lawyer asked him to ask me to write this to present for his case, it does not seem obligatory and so far I have not sent him or his wc attorney anything. Please advise

[Fulcrum]

You should speak to your own attorney about this and have the other party go through them.

[Anon636]

That would not be worth the time or money, the situation has nearly nothing to do with us, I even spoke to his attorney, he said it's the most we can ask for. In a very non obligatory answer. I gave him the truth of the matter and don't see a need to write anything for this guy.

[CCAdamson]

I think that is the right course of action. You do not owe anyone anything unless you receive a written, legal, request for information. They are just trying to maximize this guys benefit and take advantage of the situation.

If he had worked for you for a couple of months and was actually earning some money, on the books, from you then he has a claim of lost wages but he had 2 days in and no guarantee of a future in your company.

[nealrm]

Why is he trying to take advantage of anything? At the very least he lost a day's worth of wages (the OP did state he was asked to come back). If you are hurt and not having a paycheck come in, that day's worth of wages can really help. The OP would be out about 5 minutes of his time to write the letter. Why not help the guy out???

There are a several self-centered and negative assumption comments on this thread that really reflect badly on the posters. It shouldn't matter if you are legally required to help or not. Someone was hurt, providing accurate information that may help them is the moral thing to do.

[Anon636]

Why is someone on a trial week entitled to anything? There were no anticipated shifts past the first week and the second day we had already called him off, planning to call him off the day he was hurt. He worked one day with our company as a part timer and no promises were made on anything.

[CCAdamson]

That comment may or may not have been directed at me but either way all I am saying is that Anon636 is currently under no obligation to supply anything for this person. If I understood correctly he worked 1 day and had not been back prior to his injury. My questions on the injured workers motives come from the fact he has lawyer at all. If he was recently injured and his full time employer is properly handling his claim then he shouldn't need one. The WC provider may call or send a letter requesting information and if they do by all means comply but to get legal representation seems a bit much. I will say that not knowing the other facts of the case he may actually need representation but it sounds like he lawyered up almost immediately.

[nealrm]

Anon636 - In your first post you stated "He works that Tuesday, he does ok, I tell him we don't need him Wednesday and to come Thursday." Until the last post, I do not see anything that states you were not planning for him to work on Thursday. Working under that information, he should be compensated by the other employer for Thursday. He lost a days wages due to the injury.

Your last post states you were planning to not have him work on Thursday. When did that come about, did you tell him and were you likely to follow through on that plan? Unless you actually set the plans in motion, give him that day. If you didn't use him on Thursday, you may have used him on some other days. You did say he did OK.

He is entitled to just compensation for lost work due to an injury sustained while working for the other employer. If you were hurt by someone else and could not work, wouldn't you seek retribution for lost income???

[nealrm]

That comment may or may not have been directed at me but either way all I am saying is that Anon636 is currently under no obligation to supply anything for this person. If I understood correctly he worked 1 day and had not been back prior to his injury. My questions on the injured workers motives come from the fact he has lawyer at all. If he was recently injured and his full time employer is properly handling his claim then he shouldn't need one. The WC provider may call or send a letter requesting information and if they do by all means comply but to get legal representation seems a bit much. I will say that not knowing the other facts of the case he may actually need representation but it sounds like he lawyered up almost immediately.

Having a lawyer represent you when you are injured is a smart thing to do. The WC provider will have someone there representing them. Everything you say will be recorded and any misstatement or ambiguity can be used against you. Something simple as a responding to the general greeting of "how are you today", with a polite "I'm doing OK" has been used against people. In addition, a back injury may or may not be a one time thing. Depending on the severity of the injury, a back injury can result in a lifetime of pain and limited work potential. A good honest lawyer will help you get just compensation.

This doesn't mean that there are not dishonest lawyers, that work with dishonest doctors to get unjust claims. There are, of that there is little doubt. Nor is there any doubt that there are dishonest WC firms that will do anything to stop from paying a just claim.

Having a lawyer in no way implies that you are trying to take advantage of the situation, it just means that you are willing to protect yourself.

[Anon636]

Said employee is now calling me asking for me to write this multiple times. stating his lawyer is insisting I write this for them. I have already given stated wages and hours worked to the WC adjuster, and his lawyer. This employee is now basically harassing me saying I have to do something that I clearly don't have to do, and why would I??? Said employee is very strange. Working one day at a job and instantly lawyering up. WC isn't paying him for a reason. If I was obligated to do such a thing why have I not received any legal papers or requests? Just word of mouth asking?

[Anon636]

I never got the chance to call him off that Thursday, he was hurt immediately on the morning before we even opened. Hopefully a lawyer can chime in, I'm really not willing to help this person out. But it's also not worth a subpoena, if they can even get one for such matter.

[Harold Mansfield]

Said employee is now calling me asking for me to write this multiple times. stating his lawyer is insisting I write this for them.

Tell him to have his attorney call with any future requests from here on out. Period. No matter how many times he calls keep repeating that. If he doesn't stop tell his attorney that you will file for a restraining order and be prepared to follow through. Start recording his calls. Block his number if you have to.

You're causing yourself unneeded stress by continuing to speak with him and listening to what he has to say.