Can You Be Fired (Retaliation) for Filing Workers’ Comp. in Pennsylvania?

You should not lose your job for pursuing the legal benefits that the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act affords employees. An employer cannot fire an employee in retaliation for seeking worker compensation benefits. However, an employer is allowed to fire an employee for other non-injury related reasons.  

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for an employee to be terminated while they are pursuing their workers compensation benefits or are already receiving workers compensation benefits. If you believe you were wrongly fired from your job after sustaining a work injury, you should contact one of our attorneys today.

Each case is fact specific, but generally if brought into litigation, the employer has a high burden of proving that they did not fire an employee based on their pursuit for workers compensation benefits but that the employee was fired for a valid reason such as poor performance or a violation of company policy.

What You Should Know if You Are Terminated

The important thing to know is that if you are already receiving workers compensation benefits and are terminated from employment, your benefits should not automatically stop. If you are terminated, your employer is still under an obligation to continue to pay your workers compensation benefits until they complete the correct judicial process to stop which is done through filing of a notice of stopping workers’ compensation benefits, suspension petition, modification petition, or termination petition.

If you are not receiving workers compensation benefits and are terminated from your employment, you may still be able to recover workers compensation benefits. The process to obtain workers compensation benefits is done through filing a claim petition, which alleges that you sustained an injury while in the course and scope of your employment and that the injury is related to your employment. Work injuries can result in three benefits: medical benefits, wage loss benefits, and specific loss benefits. The factor of being terminated from your employment will come into play during the litigation process

Filing OSHA Complaints Are Protected

You wouldn’t want to work in conditions that could injure, sicken or kill you. That’s why the law has put in place protections to ensure your safety. Importantly, the law also protects your right to report such hazards-without losing your job or being punished for speaking up.

It’s all part of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. This Act created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which sets and enforces standards to keep employees safe. It also allows employees to file a complaint with OSHA without fear of retaliation from their employer.

This is a provision that has been tested time and again in our courts, as evidenced in these two lawsuits filed recently:

A worker at Crown Furniture in West Springfield, Mass., noticed asbestos, mold and rodents in the company’s basement. He filed a complaint with OSHA. Two days later, he was questioned about why he filed the complaint and then fired.In four separate incidents, employees at Southwestern Bell were disciplined or given unsatisfactory performance appraisals after they were injured on the job. An employee in Parkville, Mo., injured his knee while walking in snowy conditions. An employee in Lawrence, Ks., reported a back injury. A worker in Liberty, Mo., had a work-related fracture. Another worker in Overland Park, Ks., injured his ankle.

In both cases, the United States Department of Labor filed lawsuits on behalf of these employees. According to OSHA’s press release, the lawsuit against Crown Furniture seeks “more than $20,000 in lost wages to compensate the employee, plus interest, as well as compensatory and/or punitive damages and posting of a nondiscrimination notice at the workplace.”

The lawsuit against Southwestern Bell seeks to remove the negative reports from employee files, and to recover legal costs. “It is against the law for employers to discipline employees for reporting injuries,” said Marcia Drumm, acting regional administrator for OSHA in Kansas City, Mo. “Southwestern Bell must understand that, by discouraging workers from reporting injuries, it increases the likelihood of more injured workers in the future. The department will do everything in its power to prevent this type of retaliation. “

The workers compensation litigation process can be confusing for people to navigate alone without the added complication of termination from employment. Do not allow the fear of being fired prevent you from pursuing your workers’ compensation benefits.

The attorneys at Martin Law routinely deal with these scenarios outlined above. Contact one of our attorneys today so we can help you get the benefits you are entitled to under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act.