The Employer’s Report is required by the state. It begins the Workers’ Compensation claim process, which provides the employee’s medical coverage as well as temporary or permanent disability benefit payments. Remember, it is your responsibility as a supervisor to complete and give or send the Employee’s Claim for Workers’ Compensation Benefits Form (DWC-1) (PDF), to the injured employee within one working day of your knowledge of the injury. Completing the form is not an admission of liability.

The Employee’s Claim form is required by law for any occupational injury occurring on or after January 1, 1990. The form must be provided to the injured employee within one working day of injury notification. The returned (completed) form guarantees the employee certain legal rights in the Workers’ Compensation process and provides for the release of medical records to assist eligibility determination.

The Employer’s Report of Occupational Injury or Illness form must be sent to the Benefit Services Offices whether or not you have all the information requested on the form. Delaying the form seriously jeopardizes the employee’s disability payments or medical care, as well as the claims and accident investigations. When describing the injury or accident, you may leave lines 15-18 blank if no information is available at the time.

Employees should inform their own supervisors of the injury so that the supervisor can complete the Employer’s Report of Occupational Injury or Illness and provide the Employee’s Claim for Workers’ Compensation Benefits form to the injured employee.

It is the employee’s right not to file. State law requires, however, that the Employer’s Report of Occupational Injury or Illness form be completed by the employer any time an occupational injury is reported. To aid in the claims process, attach a statement indicating the employee does not wish to pursue the claim at this time.

Yes, you must give or mail the claim form to the employee’s home address within one working day of the date you’ve been notified of the injury.

You can administer first aid if you have a first aid kit or send the employee to an occupational health facility designated by the County of Kern for medical attention.

No. For personal health care problems, the employee should seek his/her own health care provider. The designated occupational health facilities are only available to employees with work-related injuries.

Ask the employee what happened. If the employee states that the back problems are work-related, give or mail the Employee’s Claim form to the employee. You must also complete the Employer’s Report of Occupational Injury or Illness form. Medical examinations and claims investigation will determine the nature and extent of the employee’s injury.

The type and amount of benefits are established by law. Workers' Compensation Services, the County of Kern's claims administrator, determines whether the injury is work-related or not, after talking with the employee and supervisor, reviewing the medical reports, and sometimes requiring additional medical evaluations.

Yes, if the employee claims to be out because of stress caused by work (or if work restrictions from the physician indicate this), you are required to send the Employee’s Claim form to your employee by mail. Workers' Compensation Services will conduct an investigation to determine work-related stress factors with any stress claim.

A psychiatric injury is compensable if it is a mental disorder that caused a disability or the need for medical treatment, based on a diagnosis using language and criteria accepted nationally by practitioners in the field of psychiatric medicine.

For a psychiatric injury claim to be compensable, however, the following must apply:

• The employee must have been employed for at least six months (need not be continuous) unless the psychiatric injury is caused by a sudden and extraordinary employment condition.
• The employee must demonstrate by a preponderance of evidence that actual events of employment were predominant (not less than 51%) as to all contributory causes.
• For employees whose injuries resulted from being a victim of a violent act or from direct exposure to a significant violent act, the employee must demonstrate by a preponderance of evidence that actual events of employment were a substantial cause (35-40%) of the injury.

No compensation is due in the following situations:

• Claim is filed after notice of termination or layoff unless special conditions exist.
• Psychiatric injury was substantially caused by a lawful, nondiscriminatory, good faith personnel action.

A Delay in Decision is a notice sent by Workers' Compensation Services to an injured worker when there is a question related to the compensability of the injury.

As a general rule, no, unless you act outside your scope of employment with “serious and willful misconduct” or discrimination. In such cases, you may be held personally liable. In addition to seeking an increase in benefits, an employee may pursue civil remedies.

If an employer knowingly violates a safety order and the violation is the cause of the injury, it will constitute serious and willful misconduct. Also, if the employer fails to provide a safe place to work as required by law, the intent required for serious and willful misconduct may be inferred.

The term “willful” means that the conduct was intended. “Misconduct” is defined as “inappropriate behavior.” An employee seeking an increase in benefits must prove that the employer’s conduct involved an intent to injure or showed a reckless disregard for employee safety.

If an employer discharges, threatens to discharge, or discriminates against an employee because he or she has filed or made known an intention to file an application for adjudication, or because the employee has received a rating, award, or settlement, the employer is guilty of a misdemeanor.

If you are found to have caused an injury by serious and willful misconduct or to have discriminated against an employee, the department will be responsible for the payment of any award or increase in benefits that results.

No, provided the injury is accepted by the County of Kern's Workers' Compensation Services and the employee remains on the payroll.

Any time an employee loses one day or more from work because of a work injury, call the County of Kern's Workers' Compensation Services to report the lost time to avoid delays in claims processing or in providing disability payments.

Note “WC” for time claimed for the injury. You will receive an Employee Profile from the Benefit Services Office for each temporary disability check sent to the injured employee so that your department knows which time period is being covered by Workers’ Compensation.

You can temporarily replace an injured employee according to personnel policies and collective bargaining agreements. An injured employee who is on pay status (full pay or Extended Sick Leave) cannot be medically separated.