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COURTS Grants Pass business must pay fired worker State orders total payment of $144,000 Comment By Shaun Hall Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Shaun Hall Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Aug. 1, 2015 at 2:13 PM By Shaun Hall Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Aug. 1, 2015 at 2:13 PM » Social News A woman who got hurt on the job at a Grants Pass restaurant and then was fired after she filed a workers' compensation claim has been awarded $22,000 in back pay and $120,000 for emotional and mental suffering, according to a ruling by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. The state found that the harm caused by the owner of Leo's BBQ Bar & Grill was so great that the fired employee was awarded $90,000 more in damages than she sought as a minimum. According to findings in the case, Leo's BBQ owner Leo Thomas Ryder and his fiancee, Roberta Bray, fired Robin Sausedo on the day Sausedo signed paperwork to file a workers' compensation claim. Sausedo's attorney, Dick Adams of Grants Pass, said Sausedo was treated unlawfully by her employer. "It's a sad thing when you deprive somebody of their job just because they got hurt," Adams said Thursday. "It was very unfair for her to lose her job. Good for her for winning her case." Ryder did not return a call for comment for this story. According to findings in the case, Sausedo, a bartender and waitress, hurt her hand lifting a tray at work in July 2013. She told Bray about it the next day, and later saw a doctor. But Bray was angry that Sausedo saw the physician and later complained that Ryder had been fined $8,000 because he didn't have workers' compensation insurance. She then fired Sausedo immediately after Sausedo signed paperwork filing a claim. Sausedo testified she had never been fired before and was left financially troubled by the firing. The state determined that Ryder, acting through Bray, fired Sausedo because she was pursuing the claim. Such claims typically provide lost wages and medical benefits. According to the ruling, Sausedo suffered severe financial stress and major loss of self-esteem, among other harm. Sausedo sought at least $30,000 in damages, but the state awarded her $120,000. "The forum concludes that $30,000 ... is a wholly inadequate sum to compensate complaintant for her continuing emotional and mental suffering caused by her termination," according to the order in the case, signed by state Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian. The order for Ryder to pay up was issued July 1. A call to Ryder's business was answered by a person who said her name was Chelsea, but who hung up when a reporter asked for Ryder. "Good luck trying to get ahold of him," she said, then hung up. Adams hopes that Ryder, who was ordered to undergo training on Oregon law, learned his lesson. "Maybe Leo got the message," Adams said. "The message is, when you have employees and they get hurt on the job, they have rights to get medical care and be taken care of. Employers just can't treat people like that." Adams said he wishes Sausedo well. "She's a wonderful person," he said. "She was a very hard-working employee and they treated her in a shabby manner." Since Sausedo's firing, Ryder closed his business but opened another restaurant at another location in Grants Pass, according to the judge's findings, which didn't list addresses. Oregon Secretary of State records show Ryder operating Leo's BBQ Bar & Grill at 6401 Rogue River Highway, but now managing Leo's BBQ, a limited liability company, at 949 Rogue River Highway. By Shaun Hall Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Shaun Hall Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Aug. 1, 2015 at 2:13 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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