The potential for accidents exists all over the modern workplace, no matter what sort of job a person has. Injury can occur with everything from tripping over a poorly placed box, to falling off a ladder, to getting into an accident with equipment or machinery on site.
As an injured worker, you may feel like reporting the incident will do more harm than good. You may feel like you will get into trouble if you do. But filing a report is the only way to claim worker’s compensation.
Protected leave
The California Labor Code goes into detail about reporting injuries at the workplace. First, if you are completely honest in your report and the injury came from a work-related accident, your employer legally cannot fire or punish you for the report. They also cannot punish or fire you if you testify in a co-worker’s case, having witnessed an accident happen to them.
You may also worry about the possibility of getting fired if you take too much unpaid leave following an incident at work. Fortunately, in most cases, the California Family Rights Act and Medical Leave Act require businesses to give up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off depending on the injury.
Acts of discrimination
The California Labor Code categorizes penalties and disciplinary actions under these circumstances as discriminatory behavior, and you can take legal action accordingly if it happens to you. Confronting one’s employers is never an easy or pleasant task to undergo. However, it is important for workers like you to understand and stand up for their rights in the workplace.
