Legal Question in Employment Law in Utah
employment that requires alot of lifting
My job requires lifting, and i understand that. I work for a school food service nad have been employed there for 18 yrs. The job i hold also had another worker assigned to me as my helper. In Dec of '99, my helper quit and was never replaced. I did however get someone in on an average of 6 hours a week to help me, as apposed to the other helper that was there to help me for17 hours a week. The rest of the work was left to me to take care of. I have cases of food that weight as much as 50 pounds each and on some days lift an average of 300 pounds total...some days more. I am the oldest employee and the smallest in the kitchen and it has been very hard for me to do this. I was constantly exhausted at the end of each day and became getting very run down. In April this year I was rushed to the hospital and was told I have pneumonia and pleurisy. I am in my 4 th week of recovery and still very weak. I was told by the doctor when you are very run down and my age it can take this long. Are there any laws about requiring this much lifting on a job by one person.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: employment that requires alot of lifting
There are no laws which limit the amount of lifting. If you suffered injury as a result of your employment you are entitled to workman's compensation.
If you are no longer able to perform the lifing portion of your work, I suggest you talk to your supervisor and request either an assistant to do the lifting or reassignment.
You may also claim that you are "disabled" to the extent of being able to lift such weight and claim under the Americans With Disabilities Act that your employer either reassign you or provide special accomodations (such as a helper) so you can do your work.
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