WCDefenseCA

Happy Monday dear readers! And truly, a happy Monday it is.  California workers’ compensation can often make us sad, but there’s so much reason to rejoice, especially when, on those rare occasions, the stars align, the tea leaves land in just the right way, and just for a split second… the world makes sense again.

What brings about this irrationally optimistic mood in your most humble of bloggers?  Well, recently the Court of Appeal (4th Appellate District, unpublished) ruled in the case of Kennedy v. MUFG Union Bank, that a voluntary resignation as part of a workers’ compensation settlement warranted summary judgement in her civil claim alleging wrongful termination.

The unpublished decisions (and remember folk, unpublished opinions in California are like bus tours without windows: no cites!  That is, no citing on unpublished opinions) held that evidence of a voluntary resignation letter “was sufficient to negate any claims premised upon the existence of a termination, as it showed that plaintiff was not terminated and instead voluntarily resigned her employment with Union Bank.”

So, while we are now precluded from enforcing contracts that agree that there will not be any re-hiring, the resignation letter still holds to negate any civil claims predicated upon a theory that requires a termination.

Hypothetical for you, dear readers: Employer terminates the employment of Employee on a basis that would otherwise give rise to a civil suit; Employee pursues a civil suit for the termination while also pursuing a workers’ compensation claim; Employee settles the workers’ compensation claim with a voluntary resignation letter while the civil suit is still in its discovery stage; does the voluntary resignation now negate the civil suit?  Does it matter if the voluntary resignation was signed after the alleged wrongful termination?

In Kennedy, applicant’s position was eliminated, and she signed a resignation letter as part of her C&R after that fact.  If Kennedy is offering guidance, then it looks like a voluntary resignation in a workers’ compensation claim is fatal to a civil claim based on a theory of wrongful termination of employment.

Even if no civil suit is pending, perhaps it is worthwhile to explore an injured worker’s willingness to sign a resignation letter and for the parties to go their separate ways, if for no other reason to nip any potential claims in the bud.

Now, hopefully, dear readers, we will see Kennedy published before too long, because common sense reasoning and results merits attention and authority.  In the meantime, your humble blogger will be humming “happy happy joy joy” all the way to the WCAB.