Best to give deposition for ex-employer
Former employees may not necessarily be compensated for their time when giving a deposition or testifying for an ex-boss, but it is still considered a good idea to cooperate with these requests, experts say. Credit: iStock
DEAR CARRIE: Because of budget cuts I lost my administrative job with a local municipality. In my former role I issued various disciplinary actions, including employment terminations. I carried out these actions at the request of a manager or supervisor and in consultation with human resources and labor relations. An employee has filed a complaint against the municipality. Do I have a legal obligation to respond to requests for a deposition or to testify? I have not received any subpoenas, merely requests from the municipal attorney's office. Any deposition would clearly be time-consuming and hurt my efforts to find a new job. Also, am I entitled to compensation from the municipality for this time? -- Forced Testimony
DEAR FORCED: Obviously, if you are subpoenaed, you must appear. But short of that, it's still in your best interest to cooperate, said employment attorney John Diviney, a partner in Rivkin Radler in Uniondale. If you are sued individually because of your former job, the municipality can help you if you cooperate, Diviney said.
"In order to protect municipal employees, various state laws provide that the municipality has a duty to defend and indemnify you in connection with lawsuits arising out of your official duties," Diviney said. "These laws generally require the employee to cooperate with the municipality."
He noted that Section 17(4) of the Public Officers Law states, "The duty to defend or indemnify shall be conditioned upon . . . the full cooperation of the employee in the defense of such action or proceeding."
As for compensation for your time, you're probably out of luck.
"These provisions do not generally provide that you will be compensated for your time," he said.
DEAR CARRIE: My employer wouldn't allow me back to work after my workers' compensation doctor authorized me as "fit for duty." The insurance coverage stopped at that moment. The company made me see its doctors, a process that took four months. During that time I received no benefits or paychecks. Is this legal? I was finally allowed to return. -- Cheated?
DEAR CHEATED: I turned to the state Workers' Compensation Board for answers.
The key here is "fit for duty," said board spokesman Joe Cavalcante.
"If the treating physician said the employee can return to work with some restrictions -- in other words, the employee is partially disabled, even temporarily -- but he or she is not brought back, the worker may be eligible for workers' compensation benefits replacing lost wages," Cavalcante said.
He said you should file form RFA-1 with the Workers' Compensation Board for a determination.
"If the board directs an insurance carrier to pay wage-replacement benefits, the insurer may not suspend or reduce those benefits unless a workers' compensation law judge approves it at a hearing," Cavalcante said.
If you were cleared for work with no restrictions and you still weren't allowed back, you should call the State Labor Department's to see if you were eligible for unemployment benefits because of the lost income. That number is 888-209-8124.
Click here to find more on workers' comp benefits at www.wcb.state.ny.us/content/main/Workers/Workers.jsp
Click here to get a copy of workers' comp "request for further action" form, or RFA-1, at www.wcb.state.ny.us/content/main/forms/rfa-1.pdf
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