Being injured or becoming ill on the job can be debilitating. Some employees end up in a depression, others just get jittery because they want to be doing more and others become angry. Of course, there are those who also wait it out and recover without those negative feelings, but it can still be difficult to endure that recovery. If you are out on workers’ compensation and your employer contacts you to let you know you’ve been fired, is that even legal? The following goes over some information you should know in such a situation.
The Workers’ Compensation Claim
Under the law, your employer cannot legally fire you simply for filing a workers’ compensation claim. Your employer does have a right to dispute the claim, and if that happens, the whole process could take longer to be resolved. It is possible for your employer to secretly have that as the underlying reason for your termination, but you would have to prove that in order to have a case against your employer.
Other Reasons for Termination
There are plenty of others reasons your employer might terminate your employment while you are out on workers’ compensation. The following are just a few examples.
- Your workplace injury was the result of horseplay that you have previously been warned about, possibly even multiple times.
- Your employer was gearing up to fire you for a legitimate reason before the accident occurred.
- Your injury was the result of something you did that was a blatant disregard for company policy.
- You’re a contracted employee and there’s a long-term workers’ compensation provision that allows your employer to terminate employment if you are out longer than a certain amount of time.
What You Should Do
If your employment was terminated while you were out on workers’ compensation, you should first work to understand the reasons why. While it may look like one thing on the surface, there could be an underlying reason. Get your lawyer involved so you can really figure out the reasons why. Doing this could lead to taking legal action against your employer.
The next thing you should do is become familiar with the statute of limitations regarding your case, as well as the process of fighting this issue. Your lawyer can help you figure this all out.
Getting in Touch With a Lawyer
Your employment status should never suffer because of a workplace injury. Whether you were fired while out on workers’ compensation, or simply worried your employment is coming to an end because of your time away from work, it’s best to get in touch with a work injury lawyer from our friends at Law Offices of Franks, Koenig & Neuwelt, today.