ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - A New York wholesale grocer will pay the state $45,000 for allegedly firing employees who were injured on “preventable accidents,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Wednesday.
C&C Wholesale Grocers, the country's largest wholesale grocery supply store, allegedly fired the employees while they were still in their 90-day probationary period of employment.
“An employee injured on the job deserves medical care and workers’ compensation benefits – not a pink slip,” Schneiderman said. “Employers must not set policies that dissuade workers from reporting injuries and getting the care and support they’re entitled to under the law.”
The company's employment policy stated any employee that was injured during their probationary period would be terminated. However, that policy was in violation of state law, Schneiderman said, which prohibits companies from firing or retaliating against employees who look to receive workers' compensation benefits.
An investigation by Schneiderman's office found that nearly all the injuries that occurred during 2010 and 2011 were preventable. During that time ,18 workers were allegedly terminated for being injured.
In July 2013 the appellate division of the Workers' Compensation Board upheld an original decision by the board that said the company's policy violated state law. The board said the policy dissuaded workers during their probationary period to come forward with injuries.