Hurt at Work then Fired

[trewe]

My workers compensation claim was made in the State of: co


I was hurt on the job after my boss told me to do something. I ended up staining a muscle in my back and was sent to the clinic.. the doctor told me to take 2 days off then return to work. I was not scheduled any jobs for the rest of the week. I returned back to work on Monday and was fired. What should I do.

[BvIA]

Talk to a WC attorney... it's illegal in all states to terminate an EE/IW for suffering the injury, or claiming WC benefits. It's called "harrassment/discrimination"...That's your options...talk to atty, or simply find a new job.

[Bastile]

Hello Everyone,

I see a lot of post where injured employees get terminated soon after a work injury or shortly after returning to work. I suppose it is legal for the company to make the case that they need an able bodied person to do the job that was left vacant by an injured worker. My question is that in the department I work, there have been 3 individuals over the last 5 years that have needed to take leaves of absence more than 14 months for 1 and almost 2 years for another etc for personal medical health issues. In each case my department; therefore my employer held their position and worked around filling their duties with others me included. I was injured (Work comp MVA) this summer and haven’t faced a termination but have been off for a couple of months. I did return on a PT basis and hopefully will return to a full schedule but I still have injuries that are causing me tremendous problems. Since precedence has been set do I not have recourse outside of the WC rules to sue an employer for discrimination if they decided to terminate me? Everyone has the same job description that is mentioned here and we all work for the same department within the company. I do not see this scenario addressed anywhere but think it is important to understand. If a claim can be made in this situation what type of atty is needed and is the precedence important.

[BvIA]

There are NO job protections in filing a claim for WC benefits.
IF you are eligible for unpaid leave under FMLA, that would provide job/benefits protections up to 12 weeks/annum.

If you think you are being harrassed/discriminated against for filing the comp claim, or suffering injury in the first place, the burden of proof is upon you... regardless of prescedence.

Personal medical health issues are not the same as work injury, and being rated for PD... at which point your ER must make the determination if a job is available within your permanent restrictions. Those other EE's may not have returned with impairment that affects their job performance. Big difference.

BTW... it would be best if you started a thread of your own... the responses would be more relevant to your situation.

[Bastile]

I wasnt asking is there was WC protection. In general if an employer treats others with medical issues in the same manner and then someone has a WC injury and needs to be off work for a period of time to heal\treat\have surgery etc but is able to return to their position wouldn't that precendence apply or might they face a lawsuit for discrimination if they treat a person with a WC injury differently interms of holding their position vs a personal injury\heath issue and holding their position while they treat\heal etcc

[BvIA]

There is a big difference in being off on leave, unpaid, for personal health issues, vs a WC injury.
Personal issues are not covered under the law, WC injury is.

If you think you have been discriminated against for having a disability, there are protections under EEOC. File a claim there. The burden of proof is always on you the applicant.


Personal health issues don't necessarily render a person with a "disability" or impairment as a work injury may.

I wasnt asking is there was WC protection.

ah... but this is a workers compensation board.
Go talk to a labor law attorney... take your check book with you.