Company Terminated Employees Injured in “Preventable Accidents” During Their 90-Day Probationary Period
Schneiderman: Workers Should Not be Punished for Workplace Injuries
NEW YORK – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a settlement of $46,000 with C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (“C&S”), the largest wholesale grocery supply company in the country, with warehouses nationwide, including Newburgh and Chester. The settlement follows an investigation by the Attorney General’s office into the company’s written policy of firing employees who were injured in a “preventable accident” within their initial 90 day probationary period of employment.
“An employee injured on the job deserves medical care and workers’ compensation benefits – not a pink slip,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Employers must not set policies that dissuade workers from reporting injuries and getting the care and support they’re entitled to under the law.”
Under the company’s policy, a probationary employee who was injured would be terminated. Workers’ Compensation Law §120 (WCL § 120) prohibits employers from firing or retaliating against employees who seek Workers’ Compensation benefits. The C&S policy violated this law because it dissuaded workers from reporting injuries and filing claims.
The Attorney General’s investigation began after his office successfully represented the Workers’ Compensation Board in an appeal involving C&S, in which, in accordance with the company’s policy, an employee was terminated after being injured on the job. The Appellate Division in July 2013 upheld the Workers’ Compensation Board’s decision that C&S’s policy violated the law because it dissuaded probationary employees from reporting their injuries and pursuing Workers’ Compensation benefits.
The Attorney General’s subsequent investigation revealed that during 2010 and 2011, nearly every accident involving an injury was determined to be “preventable,” including incidents where workers experienced back pain without an identifiable cause; a total of eighteen workers were terminated under the policy during that time period. The investigation also found that at least as recently as 2013, C&S continued to issue written reprimands to employees for getting injured, warning them that future incidents (injuries) would result in “further disciplinary actions up to and including termination.”
The settlement agreement requires C&S to formally change its policy, and to train all employees and supervisors regarding workers’ right to file for Workers’ Compensation benefits without retaliation. It also requires monitoring of compliance with WCL §120 for two years, including designating an internal compliance monitor and providing relevant documents to the Attorney General’s Office. As part of the settlement, C&S will pay $46,000 to the Attorney General in resolution of the office’s investigation, consisting of $36,000 in damages to be distributed to former employees terminated pursuant to the unlawful policy and $10,000 in penalties.
“I am grateful to the Attorney General’s Office because I do not want what happened to me to happen to any other workers in the future,” stated Julio Rodriguez, who filed a claim under WCL § 120 with the Workers’ Compensation Board when he was terminated from his job with C&S. “Warehouse work is physically strenuous work, and workers need to get appropriate medical care if they get injured without having to worry about being fired.”
Anyone who is aware of a violation of workplace rights in New York State is encouraged to file a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General by filling out a complaint or by calling the Labor Bureau at (212) 416-8700.
The case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Donya Fernandez and Special Counsel Patricia Kakalec. The Labor Bureau Chief is Terri Gerstein, and the Executive Deputy Attorney for Social Justice is Alvin Bragg.