Thankfully there are a lot of great Americans who are continuing to work through this pandemic for the benefit of all of us. If you are working and develop symptoms of COVID 19 I recommend you take the following actions.
1. Notify Your Supervisor Immediately.
Notifying your employer immediately serves two functions. First, formal notification to the employer is the triggering mechanism to get the work comp insurance company involved with your claim. If you do not report the injury to your employer, your employer will not report it to its insurance company and this ripple will cause a delay in getting your bills paid.
Second, given the nature of this virus, you want to notify your employer so it can take immediate precautions to protect other employees and minimize the likelihood of further workplace contamination.
2. Seek Appropriate Medical Attention.
You must use your best judgment when it comes to your health. I am not a doctor and you should not rely on advice from a legal blog. However, consistent with the current guidance from our medical providers, if you believe you have been exposed or if you are developing systems of COVID 19, you should begin with a telephone call to your nearest medical provider. To the extent possible you should take further action only after you have discussed your situation with a nurse or medical practitioner on the phone. If you are experiencing the need for emergency care use your best judgment when reporting to a medical facility and follow the protocols mandated for the protection of yourself and our medical professionals.
3. Keep Your Medical Records and Bills For Future Use.
I consider it to be a best practice for you to start a folder/binder/envelope that contains all of your injury related medical records, bills, and correspondence with your employer and work comp insurance carrier. If you obtain an attorney, you can provide the documentation to him or her for use getting up to speed on your case. If you do not hire an attorney you will need these documents to support your claim.
4. If You Test Positive for Covid-19 Are You Covered Under Workers Compensation?
The short answer is, it depends. For your COVID-19 injury to be covered by workers compensation it must be established that you contracted the virus during the course of your employment. In other words, there must be evidence that you contracted the virus while you were at work performing your job duties.
5. What You Should Do If Your Employer is Not Keeping Your Workspace Safe From COVID-19?
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the government agency that has the primary responsibility for investigating worker or workplace complaints in Wisconsin. OSHA’s website will allow you to file a safety and health complaint online. I included a link to OSHA’s website below for your convenience.
https://www.osha.gov/workers/index.html
Remember, it is illegal for an employer to do any of the following below in response to you exercising your legal rights.
• Fire or terminate employment
• Demote
• Transfer
• Otherwise retaliate against you
Keep in mind, if you believe your employer has retaliated against you for exercising your rights, you must file a whistleblower complaint within 30 days of the alleged retaliation. You can find further instructions on filing a whistleblower complaint using OSHA’s website link above.
