By Pat Murphy
The Daily Record Newswire
Last week, the U.S. Surgeon General told us yet again what we already knew: cigarettes are bad. In an attempt to ratchet up the fear factor, last week’s shiny new report told us that the chemicals in cigarette smoke begin to damage the body from the first puff. Ho hum.
But Thursday’s news was not all bad for smokers. Ronna Woods found out that she’ll be getting workers’ compensation for a tumble she took when satisfying her need for a cigarette.
Ronna worked as a nursing assistant for Jonesboro Care & Rehab Center in Arkansas.
Part of her job entailed mandatory attendance at training seminars every other Friday from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. The seminars were held in the center’s dining hall.
From the employee’s perspective, there were only two good things about having to go to the seminar. First, you got paid for the hour. Best of all, this was the time that pay checks were handed out.
On Friday, October 24, 2008, Ronna dragged herself to the bi-weekly training session, hoping it would be a short one. Fortunately, it was. After 20 minutes or so, the center’s director of nursing wrapped things up and told everybody to queue up for their paychecks.
The line was long because of the 200 employees in attendance. Rather than dealing with the long line, Ronna decided to head outside to the center’s designated smoking area and have a cigarette.
After a few minutes, Ronna had had enough of the cold and decided to go back inside to get her paycheck. As she walked over to a trash can with her lighted cigarette in her hand, Ronna fell on the pavement and broke her left arm.
Naturally, Jonesboro Care & Rehab didn’t want to pay Ronna workers’ compensation benefits for the injury, so it argued that her fall did not occur in the course of employment.
The Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission ultimately awarded benefits, but that award was overturned by the state court of appeals.
Ronna’s good news on Thursday was that the Arkansas Supreme Court had stepped in and concluded that Ronna’s broken arm was a covered injury.
The court rejected Jonesboro Care & Rehab’s contention that state law mandated the denial of Ronna’s claim because she was hurt while satisfying a personal need rather than while furthering her employer’s interests.
Noting the deference afforded the administrative proceeding below, the state’s high court concluded that “a reasonable person could reach the same decision as the Commission based on the facts in the record and find that [Ronna] was continuing to advance her employer’s interests, at least indirectly, by remaining on the premises until she had received her paycheck, filled out any necessary paperwork, and clocked out.” (Jonesboro Care & Rehab Center v. Woods)
This decision makes all the sense in the world. On the day of her injury, Ronna clocked in at 9:58 a.m. She was injured before she clocked out.
The center provided employees with paid breaks during the normal work day and the employer facilitated those employees with a smoking habit by providing a designated smoking area outside.
But for her employment obligations, Ronna would not have been injured, so it’s only fair that she be compensated for those injuries.
