Callagy Law Arizona: employees

The purpose of this post is to help assist those with questions they have concerning their business or medical practice. The Callagy Law team is knowledgeable in many law practice areas and will frequently post topics ranging from Medical Revenue Recovery, PIP, Workers Compensation, and Commercial Insurance. We hope to have this blog shed a light on many common questions.

Typically, under New Jersey Worker’s Compensation law, most claim petitions filed on behalf of an injured worker must be filed within either two years from the date of the injury or two years from the last payment of compensation, whichever is later. Payments of compensation can also include payment to a medical provider for authorized medical services. So, if an employee is injured in a work related accident and receives treatment authorized and paid for by the employer [or its insurance carrier], or receives disability benefits from the employer [or its insurance carrier] the Workers’ Compensation Claim Petition has to be filed within two years of the last payment or the last treatment received from the medical provider which was paid for by the employer or its carrier. Simply put, if an employee is injured on the job, the claim has to be filed within two years of the date of the accident or filed within two years from the last date of treatment or the last payment of disability.

In those other cases where an employee alleges that they developed an injury or illness developed over time as a result of the conditions of their employment, otherwise known as an “occupational injury”, ie: the law provides that these claims must also be filed within two years, but two years from when the employee knew or should have known that the injury or illness was connected to their employment. So for example, if an employee was to develop mesothelioma, which often may not appear for 20-50 years after exposure to asbestos, and the exposure was connected to the employee’s job, then the employee would have two years from diagnosis to file a claim.

In sum, injured employees generally have either two years from the date of an accident, or two years from the last payment of compensation to file a worker’s compensation claim, and employees who suffer an occupational injury have two years from when they knew or should have known that they developed an illness or injury related to their employment.

We hope you found the information provided in this article helpful to various questions you may have had concerning the healthcare industry. For information pertaining to our services for medical providers, please click here. Please note, Callagy Law has recovered over $185,000,000 for medical providers, and that number grows daily. Please free to reach out to Sean Callagy of Callagy Law at any time for questions you may have concerning personal and business matters. Callagy Law offices are located conveniently in Paramus, NJ. Beyond the scope of information, Sean Callagy has developed multiple areas of our healthcare legal practice and business coaching. Feel free to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn! Additionally you can subscribe to our daily videos on YouTube.

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Worker"s Comp Claims|Statute of Limitations (Part I)

Most employees are classified as what is called “at-will” employees meaning that at the will of either the employee or the employer the employment agreement between the two parties can be ended at any time.

However, in some jurisdictions, certain factors have the potential of turning at-will employment into a contract or permanent employment situation.

Probationary Periods

Many employers have probationary periods of 30, 90, or some other set number of days during which the employer closely evaluates the employee’s performance and behavior while providing regular feedback. At the end of that probationary period, the employer may summarily terminate the employee or permit him or her to continue working at the firm indefinitely.

The issue is that in some cases, once an employee is no longer probationary, it is assumed that the employee is a permanent employee who should only be terminated for cause. Courts may find that the employer has offered a contract for permanent or something more secure than at-will employment based on a probationary period.

Some human resource experts believe that foregoing probationary periods altogether may be a better option. Or, employers can introduce certain benefits in stages, such as health care benefits after 30 days, and retirement benefits after 90 days, to minimize costs associated with hiring employees who do not work out.

Employee Handbooks as Employment Contracts

It is a common business practice for businesses to create employee handbooks that lay out the responsibilities and rights of employees at the business. These handbooks discuss any number of topics such as non-discrimination statements, dress codes, vacation and sick leave rules, as well as performance appraisal information. Additionally, these handbooks may include information on the terms of employee or the procedures for termination of employment.

In some situations, it is possible to argue that that the handbook creates an employment contract that supersedes the at-will default rule. Employers need to be careful to explicitly state that the handbook is not a contract and that the handbook is not intended to change the nature of the employment arrangement or supercede at-will employment. It is possible to inadvertently create an employment contract that creates additional burdens on employers.

So, why bother writing an employee handbook in the first place? While there are risks in writing down policies because there may be unintended consequences, there are significant risks in failing to provide written documentation on job requirements and expectations to employees. Without written standard language for employees to reference, there is the potential that employees will not know what is expected of them or that terminated or disgruntled employees may pursue litigation against the company alleging that he or she was somehow mistreated or discriminated against as there were no clear policies to follow or that each employee was treated differently in some sort of discriminatory and illegal manner.

Contact a Skilled Law Firm for Help Now

Creating and maintaining a business can be a daunting endeavor. The experienced and dedicated attorneys at Callagy Law are ready to help answer your questions about forming a business or ensuring that your existing business is in compliance with the law. Contact Callagy Law now for legal guidance.