by

Legal Help When an Employer Retaliates After Workers’ Compensation

Workers Compensation Attorney

While filing for and receiving workers’ compensation benefits can sometimes be incredibly difficult, this is not always the hardest part of your workers’ compensation claim. In some cases, you might get your workers’ compensation benefits and return to work only to have your employer retaliate against you in some way. While it is mandatory for almost all businesses to have workers’ compensation benefits for their injured employees, not all employers are happy to help.

What Types of Workplace Retaliation Are There?

When you get back to work after claiming your workers’ compensation benefits, you might get back to an unhappy boss who is resentful toward you. He or she might believe that you used these benefits to get a paycheck and take time off. When this is the case, an employer will likely avoid outright acts of retaliation such as firing. However, retaliation can come in the form of something much more discreet. For example:

  • Refusing to accommodate the employee with their medical limitations
  • Demoting the employee
  • Changing the employee’s shifts to a time that is intentionally harder
  • Evaluating the employee with stricter and more unreasonable standards than other employees
  • Specifically targeting the employee regarding disciplinary citations or penalties

Not only are these more discreet examples of workers’ compensation retaliation, but they can encourage the employee to quit instead of having management outright fire them.

How Can We Prove an Employer’s Retaliation?

In some cases, it can be very challenging to prove that an employer has retaliated against an employee after receiving workers’ compensation benefits. However, there are a few ways we can prove this. Some of the ways an employee can prove unfair treatment or retaliation is:

  • The employee had legal rights to receive their workers’ compensation benefits.
  • They were legally allowed to receive the benefits because the employee followed the appropriate steps and the claim was filed in time.
  • The employer retaliated against the employee in some way, like being fired or being unjustly demoted.
  • This retaliation was directly linked to the claim for workers’ compensation benefits.

Get the Right Legal Help For Your Case

If circumstances caused you to be injured on the job and you legally received your workers’ compensation benefits, the law entitles you to use those benefits and heal from your injury. However, if you believe your employer is using your workers’ compensation against you and is retaliating, we are here to help. We believe injured employees have the right to use their employer’s workers’ compensation benefits without fear of retaliation. If you believe you have been the victim of retaliation, look no further for help. Contact experienced workers comp lawyers Milwaukee, WI relies on to get started on your claim.

 

 

Thank you to our friends and contributors at Hickey & Turim, SC for their insight into workers compensation claims.