File Nos. 5063555, 5065811 (Arb. Dec. 09/26/18)
ne of the claims in this case required a threshold determination of whether the claimant was an employee at the time of an alleged injury.
In the case, the claimant was summoned to the company office and terminated by the employer. He was then allowed to return to the production floor to retrieve his belongings. While on the production floor, the claimant was involved in an altercation with his former supervisor. Claimant sustained an alleged injury as a result of the altercation and sought workers’ compensation benefits as a result.
The threshold determination to be made was whether the claimant was still an employee at the time of the altercation given that he had been terminated before the altercation occurred. The deputy concluded that the claimant remained in the course of his employment, and therefore was still an employee, “until afforded a reasonable opportunity to leave the employer’s premises.” Despite being found an employee under the Code, Claimant did not prove he sustained any permanent impairment and was awarded $12.96 in mileage costs.
Link to case: http://decisions.iowaworkforce.org/2018/September/Gonzalez,%20Manuel-5063555d.pdf
