Can an employer force me to write a statement based on an incident that happened between two employees, if I am one of the employees in question?
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Can an employer force me to write a statement based on an incident that happened between two employees, if I am one of the employees in question?
I was injured on the job and I said something to my assistant manager but I didn’t realize it was a bad injury until I got home. She didn’t file a report, so now she’s saying that I didn’t say anything at all and my manager wants me to write a statement saying that I did say something. I don’t feel comfortable doing this but do I have to?
Asked on February 3, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Yes, your employer may force you to write this statement. If you do not, they could terminate you; worse, if you were terminated, it would technically be "for cause," since you would be disobeying the instructions of your employer--that in turn means that if your employer chose to dispute an unemployment insurance claim you made, you would no receive unemployment compensation. Do not lie in the report--that creates its own set of potential troubles--but they can require you to truthfully fill out or draft some report.
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