The Short Answer
Your employer generally cannot fire you simply because you were injured on the job and can't perform your normal duties. Instead, they are required to find alternate, suitable work that fits within the restrictions your doctor has set. You'll typically receive weekly workers' compensation benefit checks while your employer works to accommodate you. That said, your employer can eliminate your position for legitimate business reasons — but only if they eliminate all similar positions, not just yours.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR_S5rlmais&feature=youtu.be
Your employer must attempt to find alternate work for you if you are injured on the job. In the event your injury is to an extent you cannot perform a job position offered by your employer, you are usually sent home with restrictions and you will receive a weekly workers’ compensation benefit check from your employer’s insurance company until your employer can find a job in which you can perform within the restrictions set by your doctor.
Your employer cannot terminate or fire you from the job due to your inability to perform the job due to your injury. However, be aware that some employers will try to force you to resign from a job. For example, your doctor may have ordered that you cannot stand on your feet for over ten minutes at any given time. Your employer, in an attempt to get you to quit, may place you sitting on a stool all day long and have you count the number of people that walk through the office door. Eventually you will become so bored with sitting on the stool every day for many days you will get up and walk out the door and quit the job. Don’t do this because it could affect your benefits. Many employers may try to play these psychological “games” with you.
Despite that, an employer can terminate your job position. For example, business is bad and the employer cannot support your job position – they may eliminate that position if done so for the benefit of the business. However, they would likely need to get rid of all similar positions as well. In other words, if you are an assistant manager, they would likely need to dissolve all assistant manager positions – not just yours.
Again, your employer cannot fire you simply because they do not have a job for you to perform due to your injury. Instead, they would need to find suitable job tasks that fall within the medical recommendations of your doctor.
Key Takeaways
- Your employer must offer you alternate work that falls within your doctor's medical restrictions after a workplace injury.
- You will generally receive weekly workers' compensation benefit checks while your employer searches for suitable tasks you can perform.
- Employers cannot fire you solely because your injury prevents you from doing your original job.
- Some employers use psychological tactics — like assigning you pointless tasks — to pressure you into quitting, which can cost you your benefits.
- Never voluntarily quit your job after a workplace injury without consulting an attorney, as it may jeopardize your workers' compensation benefits.
- An employer can lawfully eliminate your position for genuine business reasons, but must typically dissolve all similar positions — not only yours.
Attorney Insight
The tactic I see most often is employers engineering a situation where the injured worker quits on their own — assigning humiliating or mind-numbing busywork until the person walks out. It looks voluntary on paper, but it's calculated. If you resign under those circumstances, you may lose your workers' compensation benefits entirely, and recovering them is an uphill fight. If your employer's "accommodation" feels like a punishment, call an attorney before you make any decisions about leaving that job.
