Recently reported by Greg Grinberg in his blog post, the case of Maria de Jesus Flores v. Carl’s Jr., involves an employee who gave two weeks notice to her employer, and was let go before the two weeks had ended.
Shortly afterwards she filed a Workers’ Comp claim alleging,
- injury to her back
- injury to her upper extremities
- injury to her lower extremities
- injury to her neck
- injury to her head
- injury to her neurological systemthe
- injury to her psyche
All this was sustained as a cumulative trauma.
The Workers Comp Judge ordered that the applicant was entitled to nothing. reasoning that she was let go, and the post termination defense of Labor Code Section 3208.3(c) barred any recovery.
At the next level of appeal to the Workers Comp Appeals Board, the decision was set aside to be reconsidered by the Board.
The issue turns on whether the employee quit or was fired. The Labor Code Section 3208.3(c) is intended to protect employers from “retaliation claims” filed by angry terminated ex-employees. Since the worker quit first before her firing, the case will go on.
Let’s hope the Whopper prevails here.
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