About the Presentation:

Good Faith Personnel Actions & Defending Workers’ Compensation Psychiatric Claims
Presented by Tim Rose

This presentation explains how employers can defeat workers’ compensation psychiatric claims by proving the challenged management decisions were good faith personnel actions—lawful, nondiscriminatory, and objectively reasonable. Attendees will learn how to frame common actions, including discipline, evaluations, demotions, and termination, and build the documentation record that supports the good-faith showing and strengthens the defense.

Key Concepts

• Good Faith Personnel Action
  Lawful, nondiscriminatory management decisions—such as discipline, performance evaluations, demotions, or termination—made with both a subjective good-faith belief and objective reasonableness.

• Causation Standard
  The personnel action must be a substantial cause of the psychiatric injury, meeting a 35–40% threshold, which is lower than the typical “predominant cause” standard of over 50%.

Employer Best Practices

• Set clear performance expectations
• Provide specific, timely feedback
• Implement structured improvement plans
• Establish deadlines and follow up consistently
• Apply policies uniformly across employees

Documentation Essentials

• Maintain contemporaneous written records
• Obtain employee acknowledgments/signatures
• Preserve emails and communications
• Provide complete documentation packets to evaluators, including:
  • Personnel files
  • Deposition and witness statements
  • Relevant medical records

LC 132(a) Defense Strategy

Demonstrate legitimate, non-retaliatory reasons for actions by showing:

• Documented performance issues prior to any claim
• Consistent treatment of similarly situated employees
• A clear and logical timeline of decisions
• Supporting testimony from supervisors or witnesses

Conclusion / Takeaway

Strong, consistent, and well-documented personnel actions are the foundation of a successful defense against psychiatric workers’ compensation claims.

About Tim Rose
Tim Rose is a Partner with Siegel Moreno & Stettler and is a Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law. He defends employers and insurers in high-exposure matters, including catastrophic injury, permanent total disability, life pension, fatality, and lost-time claims. Tim litigates statewide before the WCAB and has served as special project counsel investigating fraud-related issues. He has also published on workers’ compensation topics and regularly advises clients on strategy, claims handling, and risk mitigation.