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Commercial Litigation
Worker's Compensation
Federal Law
Worker's Compensation
Without a doubt, this can be one of the
most frustrating areas of laws for any employer. One of the
reasons worker's compensation law is so offensive to some
employers is that there is no requirement for any wrongdoing,
negligence, or any other type of improper act on the part
of the employee to render worker's compensation due to that
injured employee.
In fact, all that is necessary for an
employee to collect worker's compensation benefits is for
the employee to be at work and performing some duty in relation
to their work and be injured. Even if the employee is at fault
and was negligent, and perhaps should have been more careful
and caused the accident, the worker is still entitled to worker's
compensation benefits.
There are many contours and complications
in the area of worker's compensation law, and in order to
make certain that injured worker's claims are handled properly,
you should make an appointment for a free consultation.
Most importantly, Louisiana law requires
that employers have worker's compensation insurance at all
times on their employees. There are circumstances under which
an employer himself may opt out from worker's compensation
insurance, but you should seek the advice of an attorney before
making any decisions not to carry worker's compensation insurance
on yourself. If one of your employees is injured and you do
not have worker's compensation insurance in place, it can
result in penalties and additional fees being assessed against
the employer for not carrying worker's compensation insurance.
At a minimum, employers should be aware
of how to defend themselves from frivolous claims, make certain
that insurance is in place, and do everything possible to
minimize the impact upon the employer and his insurance premiums
if in fact an injury does occur.
If you feel that a fraudulent claim is
being made against you, or a claim is being made against you
and you do not have insurance, call for a free consultation.
Federal Law
American Disabilities
Act "ADA
Aside from worker's compensation issues,
employers are also faced with a myriad of various federal
laws and regulations that impact an employer's ability to
make certain decisions. The American Disabilities Act "ADA"
mandates that injured and disabled employees must be allowed
to keep their jobs despite their disability, if in fact the
employer can make reasonable accommodations so that the injured
worker can continue to perform the same job. Of course, this
is a very complicated area of the law, but employers should
be aware of the fact that they simply cannot fire an employee
because he has been injured, but rather must make accommodations
to see whether or not adjustments can be made in the tools
or working conditions of the injured employee such that the
employee can continue to work.
Avoiding Discrimination Claims
Furthermore, there are discrimination
claims that can be alleged by "protected classes"
of persons that cannot be fired for reasons that would be
discriminatory in violation of Federal Law. Such issues include
race discrimination, religion discrimination, age discrimination,
sexual discrimination, and numerous other protected classes
of persons. Therefore, before deciding to terminate any employee,
an employer should check with an attorney, explain all of
the facts and circumstances regarding the necessity to terminate
the employee and make certain that no Federal or State Laws
will be violated as a result of the employee's termination.
Payment of Wages to Terminated
Employees
Also, employers must be careful to tender
outstanding wages due employees when the employee resigns
or is fired. Current law requires an employee be paid within
15 days, or else the employer can be subjected to severe penalties
such as three times the wages due, 90 days of wages, attorney's
fees, and other fees and costs if in fact the employee is
not paid timely. Thus, it is very important to pay employees
as soon as possible and within the parameters set by State
and Federal Law so as not to be discriminatory against the
employee in the firing process.
Other Concerns
Federal Law imposes many responsibilities
on employers and even a brief discussion general overview
would be far beyond the scope of anything that could be presented
here. An employer should have an ongoing relationship with
an attorney so as to be able to obtain advice before taking
action.
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