Legal Question in Employment Law in California
I have several issues - age discrimination, retaliation, workmans comp for hernia repair, fmla, and other issues that I want addressed. If I obtain a "right to sue" from Dfeh can I hire one attorney to hear all my issues? Here is a summary if you can help i would appreciate it -Husband hurt at work, he is a pickup and delivery driver surgery required boss did not sit him down to find out what or where or how it happened he told him in order to get the time off for the surgery he would have to go thru Cigna to protect his job. He said if he failed to go thru Cigna there would be nothing they could do for him because he did not have the time and he would be fired. I filed the papers thru Cigna for the job protection and filled out worker comp form and sent it to hr. Hr denied the claim because they said they looked at the doctors notes and consulted with their inhouse nurse and they said it was not job related. His boss never mentioned workmans comp as an option he said we had to go thru Cigna. Plus when he returned to work 3 months later he was told he would be on light duty and they would just ease him into his job so he did not get injured again. His first day was light his second day he was assigned someone else route 17 stops (reg day he would have approx 12) with a pickup of 20 boxes (40lb each) he had to carry one by one down 2 flights of stairs because there was no elevator. There are 18 younger guys (he is the oldest at 56) that could have done this route but they made him do it. His second week he was assigned some else route and had to pickup 43 boxes no elevator down 3 flights of stairs. He told his boss he would need help with the boxes and his boss said I am not going to be in the office so to call the other lead man. He called the leadman and was told he could not send someone out to help him with the boxes because he was too far away but he offered to have someone take a couple of the stops he had not done yet so they did not go against him but no help with the boxes.That almost killed him. A coworker was out for minor hernia surgery and he was out for three week his first week back he was on light duty and stayed in the office all week. His boss does not like anyone to call in sick if you do you get all the hard jobs that are impossible to finish so it goes against you. His coworkers are telling him that they know its not right what the boss is doing to him but they won't say anything because they rather it be him not them. He also was told by coworker to make sure to follow all the rules don't take any shortcuts because he overheard the boss saying they were going to terminate him. Another coworker looked at his route and said there is no way you can get all this done even if you were healthy. He said I don't know what you did to the boss but they are not trying to hurt you they are trying to kill you and you should do something about it. There are more issues but I think this is enough for now. Can you help me or refer me to some one that can. I live in Santa Clara County 95050
2 Answers from Attorneys
It is possible your husband has been the victim of age and/or disability discrimination. An employer cannot take any adverse action against an employee because that employee is older or because that employee has/had a disability and requires a reasonable accommodation. While it is impossible to provide a full assessment of your husband's situation based on this information, I suggest you speak with an employment lawyer in your area as soon as possible so as to preserve any rights your husband may have.
Feel free to contact our office at (877) 877-2545 or via our website, www.sarnofflaw.com, where you can complete our Confidential Online Case Evaluation Questionnaire. That will provide us with a good deal of information we need to evaluate your husband's potential claims.
You need to file a claim for worker's compensation benefits that cover temporary disability benefits , ongoing medical treatment and a settlement for permanent disability and future medical care. Feel free to call me at 213-388-7070 for a free consultation.