Mitigating Crossover Risks Between Workers’ Comp and Employer Liability – Corinne Spencer and Antwoin Wall Author HR Dive Article

Workers’ compensation claims in California can quickly snowball and expose employers to liability. In their HR Dive article, Senior Employment Counsel Corinne Spencer and Senior Attorney Antwoin Wall explain how to prevent this crossover risk, saying that civil exposure for businesses is often the result of “the right hand not talking to the left hand.” They discuss the following ways employers can reduce their exposure:

• Through open communication between departments, including human resources, risk management, workers’ compensation benefits and others.
• By ensuring all adverse actions such as termination or suspension are reviewed by employment counsel or an HR professional well-versed in employee risk management.
• By securing general civil releases with separate consideration.

The authors conclude that communication, coordination and a global litigation and resolution strategy are key for businesses to identify and mitigate risk of liability in workers’ comp claims.

Read the full HR Dive article here.