Q: Forced lunch and intimidated against medical help for work related injury.
Where I work i am forced to put down 30minute lunch on my time card everyday even though I don't get a lunch break. At times we'll even stop at a gas station with a restaurant in it and I am not allowed to purchase any food due to time constraint. Also I fell into a sewer grate on a night job over a month ago, and at the time it didn't seem like it was that bad of an injury so I worked the entire night after. When I woke the next morning my leg was very swollen with a huge softball sized lump on the side. I still have the lump it has gotten smaller but still there and now I cannot bend my knee to squat without pain. I was told if I went to urgent care my foreman would be fired for not reporting the injury when it happened. But neither of us thought the injury was that bad initially. My foreman having a 11 month old at the time I could not consciously get him fired which prevented me from getting any medical care. Just wondering what I could/should do.
A: If your employer is requiring you to report a 30-minute lunch break, and is aware that you are not actually taking that lunch break, then your employer is violating the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws. You should contact an employment attorney in your area to discuss your options. Additionally, you can contact a workers' compensation attorney to discuss your options as it relates to reporting a claim for your injury.
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