Verga

The question presented in this workers’ compensation proceeding is whether the disdainful reactions of a supervisor and coworkers to an employee’s mistreatment of them constitute “actual events of employment” for which the employee can obtain workers’ compensation benefits for the psychological stress that the employee experiences because of those disdainful reactions to her inappropriate conduct.

The answer requires an interpretation of section 3208.3, subdivision (b)(1) of the Labor Code, which states: “In order to establish that a psychiatric injury is compensable, an employee shall demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that actual events of employment were predominant as to all causes combined of the psychiatric injury.” (Further section references are to the Labor Code unless otherwise specified.)

The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (the WCAB) concluded that Rosemary Verga was not entitled to compensation for psychiatric injury while employed by United Airlines. According to Verga, her psychiatric injury was the result of harassment and persecution by her supervisor and coworkers. However, the WCAB found “the true fact remains that [Verga] was not…