What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration denied.
Petition for Reconsideration filed by Applicant and denied by the WCAB panel, adopting and incorporating the WCJ report.
What was disputed, and how it came out
Each issue the panel decided, with the reasoning it gave. An outcome is what this panel did on this record — not a rule, and not a prediction.
The WCJ and WCAB found that 5 Acres made a valid bona fide offer of modified work through letters signed by Trecia Mongal, an HR employee of 5 Acres, and the offer complied with the applicant's medical restrictions. The applicant refused the offer without good cause, thus estopping her from claiming temporary disability.
From the decision · page 5Included with each of the three letters is an unsigned Employee Acknowledgement Form that indicates that the Applicant would remain an employee of 5 Acres while performing alternative or modified duty with Friends Helping Friends, and that this temporary opportunity would not result in employment with Friends Helping Friends. The Applicant would still be expected to comply with 5 Acres' company policies. There is also an indication that the Applicant would continue to be covered under 5 Acres' workers' compensation program (DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT A-B and JOINT EXHIBIT C). The evidence reflects that the Applicant would remain an employee of Defendant while performing the modified or alternative work.