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You Must Report Workplace Injuries for the Following Reasons:

By: Carol Kuykendall

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An industrial manufacturing business failed to report injuries sustained to its workers on the job, and subsequently was in danger of having $525,000 in fines levied against them. An investigation by the Board revealed that the manufacturer failed to report no fewer than 21 employee injuries within the mandated time period. In fact, state law remains firm over the requirement to have such injuries formally disclosed within 10 days of the incident.

The manufacturer was instructed to present itself at a hearing to demonstrate that it had adhered to the law and had reported the injuries to Workers' Compensation. The investigation, however, revealed most of these cases had yet to be reported, and that they were dated as far back as the previous year. No one company, it seems, has ever been subject to such a severe serving of discipline.

The Board's lawyers concluded from their research of the law that there had been no instance where a company had been penalized for the under-reporting of job-related injuries since that alternative became possible when the law went into effect in 1944. An attorney for the plastic manufacturing company was unable to find any similar cases. The firm's lawyer is known to specialize in legal matters involving Workers' Compensation.

The Worker's Compensation Board has not made any comments regarding the allegations against the plastic manufacturer. The company's human resource manager announced that they anticipate the hearing will bring closure to the charges. It will be an opportunity for all of the issues to be discussed in detail, as well as the chance for the information provided to be evaluated fairly.

The facts of the case are that the Steelworkers union and several other workers have alleged that the company intentionally failed to report injures to Workers Comp and to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Some go so far as to suggest that this behavior has resulted in significant savings for the company. In situations where the workers were not allowed due to their injuries the manufacturer compensated them for their time off as well as paid medical expenses for them.

A lawyer employed by the United Steelworkers of America stated that the under-reporting of injuries sustained while on the job permits companies to circumvent a full scale examination and the cost of paying workers whose injuries may recur over the course of as many as thirty years. The Workers' Compensation Board was presented with another sixty cases that involved other non work related injuries some of which stretched as far back as 1994. The company asserts that they did not fully comprehend the law, which resulted in some of the claims not being reported as required.

Should the Board discover the firm has transgressed the law, they're apt to face fines as steep as $2,500 for every case not disclosed within the mandated 10-day period. In addition to the monetary penalty, they could be criminally liable. This case has now been sent to the Attorney General's Criminal Fraud Unit by the Worker's Compensation Board.

Most recently, four cases were presented where workers had all or part of their fingers cut off during work at the plant; investigation continues into these and other allegations of under reported injuries.

A complaint was filed by an employee who alleges that the company discontinued her health coverage while she was out on Workers' Compensation, although she states she paid her premiums and they cashed her checks.

A corporate-wide investigation is being demanded by the director of the United Steelworkers of America due to the allegations that have been brought to light at this particular plant. Four more of the plastic manufacturing plants can be found in Indiana, and Illinois.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

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