Will You Get in Trouble at Work for Making a Workers’ Compensation Claim?

Let’s say that you are injured on the job. You do have workers’ compensation benefits, and you want to take advantage of them, to save you from going out of pocket to get medical treatment on your own.

But you have one major concern: Your employer may not like that you’re making a workers’ compensation claim.

Maybe that fear is founded, in that your employer has previously made comments discouraging workers from making workers’ compensation claims. Or maybe the concern is just in your head, out of fear that you don’t want to seem weak, or admit that you were injured to your employer.

Either way, you want to use your workers’ compensation, but you can’t afford to lose your job because of it.

No Retaliation Allowed

You do not have to worry–the law protects workers who make workers’ compensation claims from any kind of harassment or retaliation by employers. So long as your claim has merit, or some basis for the claim to be made (even if you were to ultimately have to file a workers’ compensation lawsuit, and you lost), your employer cannot retaliate against you for making a workers’ compensation claim.

In fact, not only can your current employer not punish you or retaliate against you for making a workers’ compensation claim, but future employers cannot discriminate or retaliate against you either.

So, for example, if you left your job to seek other employment, a potential new employer could not refuse to hire you because you made a workers’ compensation claim in your prior job.

Mixed Reasons

You are even protected, if workers’ compensation played any role in the retaliation, even if it wasn’t the only role. So, for example, if you were fired both for being routinely late to work, and also because you made a workers’ compensation claim, that could still be illegal retaliation, even though a “legitimate reason” (being late) was mixed in with an illegal reason for firing you (the workers’ compensation claim).

Recognizing Retaliation

Retaliation for making a workers’ compensation claim or for filing a workers’ compensation lawsuit can be hard to spot, but you don’t have to be completely fired for it to be retaliation. You also don’t need express language–rarely will an employer outwardly say that they are getting back at you for making a workers’ compensation claim.

Your employer is prohibited from doing anything negative to you, to “get back at you” for making a workers’ compensation claim.

That may include giving you less favorable job assignments, or not including you in job training, or giving you less favorable work shifts, or leaving you out of work social functions.

If you do have concern about being retaliated against, take special notice of your treatment before you made the workers’ compensation claim, and after you made it. If negative things start appearing afterwards–reprimands, changes in job assignments, being excluded from workplace functions, etc.–you may have a retaliation claim.

But thankfully, most employers are well aware of the illegality of retaliation after a workers’ compensation claim is made, meaning that you can safely make a workers’ compensation claim, without worrying about losing your job.

Don’t be afraid to get the medical care you need after a workplace injury. Schedule a consultation today with our Tampa workers’ compensation attorneys at Barbas, Nunez, Sanders, Butler & Hovsepian.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0440/Sections/0440.205.html