By The California Applicants’ Attorneys Association | Jul 25, 2022
Here is what California law requires of pet stores: “Ensure that each diseased, ill, or injured animal is evaluated and treated without delay. If necessary for the humane care and treatment of the animal, the animal shall be provided with veterinary treatment without delay.”
Violations of the law are “misdemeanors.”
If this standard is good enough for injured animals, why shouldn’t it be the standard for injured workers?
Why should the consequence for an employer’s failure to meet the “treatment without delay” standard for an injured worker be any different?
Perhaps we should consider amending the pet store law to read:
“Ensure that each diseased, ill, or injured animal or worker is evaluated and treated without delay. If necessary for the humane care and treatment of the animal or worker, the animal or worker, shall be provided with veterinary or medical treatment without delay.”
Or put more bluntly – Injured workers in California would be better off if they were treated like animals.