If you have sustained a workplace injury that leaves you unable to work for an extended amount of time, your employer is not required to keep your position for you. In some cases, the employer will take the injured worker back provided they can perform most of the duties required of the job.
In other situations, employers have no other choice but to let disabled employees go because they can’t wait for the injured person to get better and return to work. They may also have to let the employee go because the persons disability prevents them from ever being able to properly perform that job again.
If you do return to your job with restrictions, your workplace injury does not protect you from being fired or laid off. While it is illegal to be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim, or because you are injured, disciplinary issues or other matters of that nature are still viable reasons to be fired. You are also not protected from layoffs due to economic reasons or down-sizing.
What Happens to My Benefits If I am Fired or Laid Off?
If you are fired or laid off, either while still recovering at home or if you’ve returned to work, one of the first questions you may ask yourself is, “what happens to my Workers’ Comp benefits?”. Will you continue to receive your benefits, or will they come to an end?
When an injured employee who is currently receiving workers comp benefits is fired or laid off, this does not affect their right to continue receiving these benefits. According to the law, you have every right to receive workers’ comp benefits. It doesn’t matter if you’re employed or not; you received the injury while working.
If you are fired or laid off after returning to work, the workers’ comp benefits you receive will be reduced by your degree of disability. If you are 50% disabled with restrictions that prevent you from doing your job and your employer lets you go, you will receive 50% of your total compensation rate.
Talk with An Attorney from Erwin, McCane & Daly Today
If you’re worried about being fired or laid off after a work place injury, speak to an attorney at Erwin, McCane, & Daly today. We understand that the law is complicated and are here to answer any questions or concerns you may have. We will determine whether reasonable accommodations can be made to you position to allow you to continue working, whether your employer is justified in terminating you, and whether you may be entitled to any damages as a result of losing your job.
