Maximiliano Lopez — ADJ14382680

Maximiliano Lopez, a 20-year-old mover for Meathead Movers, sustained a specific industrial injury to his thoracic and lumbar spine on October 30, 2019 when struck by a bookcase. He was provided modified work (office paperwork and washing trucks) but was terminated on January 27/29, 2021 after failing to report for a randomly scheduled drug test and then failing to report for work or contact the employer. The WCJ awarded permanent partial disability and future medical care but denied temporary disability for the period from termination to the permanent and stationary date (September 27, 2021). Lopez sought reconsideration, arguing the drug-testing requirement did not apply to his modified office work and thus his termination lacked good cause. The WCAB denied reconsideration, adopting the WCJ's report (with one paragraph excepted), holding that an injured worker terminated for good cause is not entitled to temporary disability where modified work would otherwise have been available, and that defendant met its burden of proving termination for cause.