Can My Employer Fire Me for Making a Workers’ Compensation Claim?

By on September 18th, 2018

If you have been injured at work in Pennsylvania, you can file a workers’ compensation claim, which can help you get benefits so you can get replacement income, coverage for medical costs and other benefits. Workers’ compensation is important to ensure you are financially supported while you recover from an injury. If you cannot work and you get benefits, though, you may worry.

Can You Be Fired for a Workers’ Comp Claim?

In Pennsylvania, it is illegal for workers to be fired or punished for reporting an injury or filing a workers’ compensation claim. Your employer cannot retaliate against you. Even though a workers’ injury case may increase insurance costs for the workplace and can mean someone else will need to handle your work while you are healing, you cannot be punished for being injured and filing for benefits.

However, after you file your claim, your workplace can terminate your employment for other reasons. If you fail to follow work policy, if there is not enough work or if there are other grounds for termination, you can still be fired. In these cases, where termination takes place not as punishment but for legitimate reasons, it is legal. Since many employees work at will, this means they can be terminated legally for many reasons, if the firing is not a punishment for a legitimate claim.

If you are fired legally around the time you make your workers’ compensation claim, contact a workers’ compensation attorney in Pennsylvania to discuss your benefits and coverage. An attorney can work to ensure you get the benefits you are entitled to.

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Can You Be Fired for Getting Hurt at Work?

If you are injured at work, you cannot be fired as retaliation for a workers’ comp. claim. You can be fired for an accident if you are doing something against the rules or unsafe. (i.e. you were injured because you were driving a forklift like a madman) In an at-will employment state such as Pennsylvania, there is nothing illegal about firing an employee after an accident, even if you were following all rules and safety protocols.

If you are injured on the job, it is important to report your injury either way— especially if your work performance may be affected. If you do report the injury and file a workers’ compensation claim, you may have more evidence of retaliation or wrongful dismissal if your employer does try to fire you.

What If I Was Fired Because of My Workers’ Compensation Claim?

It does happen. While it is illegal to be fired for this reason, some employers do terminate employment and make excuses for the firing. They may allege that a worker’s skills or work performance are poorer or may allege economic factors compel them to fire the employee.

It can be challenging to tell whether your firing was due to your claim. If your termination occurred immediately following or soon after your injury and workers’ compensation claim and no one else was fired, this could be an indication the action was punitive.

There may also be actions and statements that indicate the termination was retaliation. For example, if you were discouraged from filing the claim, if the manager tried to claim workers’ insurance did not cover you, or if your employer made negative comments about your request, this might indicate your workplace was not happy about your situation, and your termination may have been retaliation.

Also, you may wish to examine the reason you were given for the termination. If you have recently gotten praise for work performance, for example, but after your injury you were given a pink slip and told your work was not up to par, this can be a red flag. If you were told the company is having financial difficulties but no one else was terminated and there is no difference in company spending, it might be time to call an attorney in your area.

If you suspect retaliation may have played a role in your termination or demotion, contact a workers’ compensation attorney. There are many ways an experienced attorney can find evidence of illegal retaliation. They may look at patterns of such behavior, interview witnesses or seek an independent review of the quality of your work. Employees in Pennsylvania do successfully bring claims against their former employer for wrongful dismissal after an injury.

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Will I Still Get Benefits?

In Pennsylvania, your workers’ compensation coverage begins when you start work. If you are injured on the job, you are fully covered and will continue to get full benefits, even if your workplace illegally fires you. If your employer tries to delay or deny your claim on the basis that you no longer work at the company, contact a workers’ compensation attorney right away.

What Can I Do Now?

If you have lost your job and think it may be because of a reported injury or work comp claim, you can file a wrongful termination claim in Pennsylvania and seek to recover damages to cover the costs you incurred, your lost wages, and the pain and distress caused by the firing. Contact an attorney to discuss your options.

If you were fired after reporting an injury or making a workers’ compensation claim, contact Weisberg Cummings, P.C. to arrange a consultation as soon as possible. You will want to learn about your legal options and start protecting your rights immediately.

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