Question

An employer informs its employees that it will hold a substantial cash prize drawing for each work group at the end of each month in which no employee in the work group sustains a lost-time injury. Tyra reports an injury that she sustained while operating a mechanical power press. Tyra did not violate any employer safety rules when she sustained her injury. Tyra’s injury requires her to miss work for two days. Her employer cancels the cash prize drawing for that month for Tyra’s work group because of Tyra’s lost-time injury. Did the employer misuse an incentive program to retaliate against Tyra?

Answer 1

Answer:

Yes, the employer misused the incentive program.

Explanation:

There are 2 important factors to consider in this case.

1. Tyra did not violate the company safety rules.

2. Tyra reported her injury directly to the employer,

Based on this facts, we can determine that the employer incurred in a violation of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 29 § 1904.35(b)(1)(iv) which states that the employer will not discriminate or discharge an employee for work-related injuries in which the employee was following safety rules.

The Occupational Safety & Health Issues agency also declared that "rate-based incentive programs are also permissible under § 1904.35(b)(1)(iv) as long as they are not implemented in a manner that discourages reporting", in this case, Tyra may be discouraged to report a future injury, because that could cause her co-workers to lose their cash prize, and maybe for loyalty to them she will prefer to remain silent.