She's Becoming an Expert on Employment Law

My fantasy author, Sandy Lender, has worked for small companies most of her career. She's an editor and a writer, and the employers have usually been smaller groups with a modest complement of staffers who perform myriad tasks. This has allowed her to learn the ins and outs of all kinds of aspects of business. Today, she's brushing up on worker's compensation law, but she's pleased to say it has nothing to do with her employer.

A friend called from where he works to say he was buying a bag of ice. Strange, she thought, considering he works at a mechanic's shop where ice is not a big seller. He went on to explain that he was in pain because he'd just fallen off a 15-foot ladder. She asked why he wasn't calling her from an emergency room.

Turns out his employer, the owner of said mechanic's shop, didn't feel the need to let him off work when they were so busy there. Can you imagine? In the society I come from, such a thing is unheard of. In this society, Sandy thinks such a thing is illegal. The fellow had climbed on the ladder, at the employer's direction, to put away an item in a storage area that has no stairs or any other point of access beyond the extension ladder. The ladder slid on some grease on the floor, and the worker fell, injuring his foot and knee in the process.

Now, if the employer doesn't allow the worker to go to the doctor's office to check out his injuries, isn't that bad? We're all wondering if the employer is operating without worker's compensation insurance coverage, which would be odd for a mechanic's shop, don't you think? Aren't those places prone to accidents? Any employment law experts checking in today?

Tags: fantasy author, Sandy Lender, employment law, worker's compensation