LinkedIn outs nurse working while receiving comp

A nurse in Columbus, Ohio, did what anyone looking for employment would do: showcased her experience on the social media job site LinkedIn.

Too bad Kandice M. Klink Jones was receiving workers compensation benefits as she was logging in to reveal that she was performing the same kind of duties that caused her injury. 

According to the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, Ms. Jones’ LinkedIn profile tipped off her employer American Nursing Care Inc., which then asked state regulators to investigate. Following her guilty plea Monday, Jones has a felony record and a bill for $12,938 owed to her former employer. In addition to ordering restitution, a Franklin County judge sentenced 46-year-old Ms. Jones to a year in jail, which was suspended in lieu of five years of community control, according to a press release. 

“Our investigation revealed Jones was gainfully employed with four different employers, doing the same or similar job duties as when she was injured,” said Jim Wernecke, director of the bureau’s Special Investigations Department, in a press statement. “The evidence we obtained confirmed she intentionally misrepresented and withheld this information in order to collect benefits she would not otherwise have been entitled to.”