Mary Jefferson, a teacher’s assistant for the California Youth Authority (CYA), said that a CYA teacher and his students regularly used derogatory language when referring to women, such as “bitch,” “whore” and “slut.” Jefferson filed a workers’ compensation claim, contending that she suffered work-related stress from a sexually hostile work environment. Jefferson also filed a sexual harassment charge with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
Jefferson settled with CYA for $49,500 and signed a preprinted workers’ compensation compromise and release form. It stated that she was releasing her employer from all claims, known and unknown, stemming from her injury, including civil claims against co-workers.
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Employer Claims Release Barred Lawsuit
Jefferson then sued CYA for sexual harassment. CYA asked the court to dismiss the case because of the signed release. Jefferson argued that she never intended to waive her harassment claim and that the workers’ comp waiver did not specify such claims. The trial court sided with CYA and Jefferson appealed.
Court Upholds General Release
The appeals court upheld the release and threw out Jefferson’s lawsuit. The court said that the general release Jefferson signed clearly waived all claims related to her underlying injury and didn’t exclude harassment claims. Plus, the inclusion of a waiver of claims against co-workers in the release suggested that it was intended to encompass issues besides workers’ comp because co-workers aren’t subject to workers’ comp liability. What’s more, an attorney represented Jefferson when she signed the release.
4 Useful Tips
Take these steps when drafting any releases to avoid similar disputes:
- Make sure releases cover all claims. State that the release covers all claims the worker may have against you. If you know of particular types of claims that could arise, specify that the release includes them and any other claims.
- Use care with preprinted forms. Pay particular attention to preprinted releases to be sure that they are broad enough. Modify them if necessary.
- Allow employees to consult an attorney. Giving employees the opportunity to seek legal advice before signing can help reduce the risk of a later challenge.
- Be aware of special rules for older workers. Note that there are special requirements for waiving claims involving workers age 40 and older.