On March 3, 2012 Megan Bromirski was injured when she slipped on a wet floor at work. Her employer and its insurance company tried to reduce her benefits by 50% claiming that she had not worn non-slip shoes as required by company policy.
At a hearing, the owner of the company testified that non-slip shoes were required because of the slippery restaurant floors. The owner also testified that she required employees to wear non-slip shoes for safety concerns and that the matter was discussed with employees several times.
Ms. Bromirski testified that she had on shoes on the day of the accident that were like the shoes she wore at the hearing. Those shoes had a rubber tread on the bottom. She also testified that her employer never supplied non-slip shoes but instead had a catalog where employees could buy shoes and have the cost taken out of their paycheck. (This – by the way – is not entirely legal. If an employer mandates that you wear a particular kind of shoe or clothing –the employer must pay for it.)
The insurance company presented evidence excerpts from the claimant’s Facebook page that it claimed indicated that Ms. Bromirski admitted to not wearing non-slip shoes at the time of her injury.
Fortunately for Ms. Bromirski – the Administrative Law Judge ruled that she was wearing shoes with rubber treads that qualified as “non-slip.” As a result, she will get 100% of her benefits. However her case serves a warning about Facebook use. Keep your settings PRIVATE, and better yet – stop posting when you get injured. It could come back and be used against you.
Case: Bromirski v. Shiman Chu LLC, WC No. 4-882-047, August 21, 2013
Additional Resource: Social Media Workers Compensation Colorado
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