Being Fired While On Workers Compensation

Following an on the job injury there are many aspects of the relationship between the employer and employee that suddenly change.

Being fired while on workers compensation.

That means that your employer can t fire you simply because you filed a claim. Employers are otherwise free to fire injured employees while they are out on workers comp leave. And the family medical leave act fmla while you can be fired while on workers compensation employees who are covered by the family medical leave act of 1993 receive up to 12 weeks of unpaid job protected leave. An experienced workers compensation attorney can help you in handling a termination while on workers compensation leave.

The short answer is that pennsylvania is an at will employment state meaning that an employer can terminate the employment relationship at any time except for specific reasons discrimination such as age race religion sexual orientation. If you are fired while you are receiving treatment you should be suspicious that your employer is terminating you because of your workers compensation claim. Of course your employer may not be firing you in retaliation for filing a claim if your employer is laying off many people it is possible it is not retaliation. The protections from the family medical leave act fmla often are applied at the same.

The law protects employees from being fired while on disability. While you cannot be terminated simply because of a worker s compensation claim it is possible to be terminated while you have an open worker s compensation claim. That would be illegal retaliation which is prohibited by workers comp laws. However in most states the protection ends there.

While the state requires all employers to provide workers compensation insurance to their employees the cost of that insurance is borne by the employers alone. While terminating an employee who has filed a workers compensation claim is not outright prohibited employers must take great care to avoid a situation where it is deemed that an employee was fired because of the workers compensation claim. The employer may immediately terminate the injured worker or may wait until after a claim has been filed. Being fired while on workers comp.

In some cases employers keep the injured worker on payroll especially if. There is a fine line in the legality of firing an employee while on workers compensation. Can you be fired while out on workers compensation. This means that any workers compensation claim particularly if you have suffered a serious work related injury can put a dent in your employer.

In new york it is illegal for your employer to fire you in retaliation for filing a workers compensation claim. However that doesn t mean that you can t be fired while you have an open workers compensation file.