No one looks forward to being injured, whether you threw out your back or fractured a bone. Aside from the pain, medical bills, and other hassles, you are worried about missing time from work. Some employees fear that if the injury is serious enough, they may be fired or demoted to a lower position.
Because California is an at-will employment state, you can be fired at any time, for just about any reason. However, you cannot be fired on the basis of having a temporary or permanent disability that impairs your ability to perform your job duties. If you were fired after you told your boss about an injury, you may have grounds to file a wrongful termination lawsuit. Your right to sue is based on specific laws by the State of California and the federal government that exist to protect workers from disability discrimination.
These protections are applicable, whether you were injured at work or you had an accident on your day off. If you got hurt at work and file for workers’ compensation, your employer is prohibited from taking your job and other acts of retaliation. If your injury occurred outside of your employment, your employer cannot fire you because you needed time off for medical appointments or asked for reasonable accommodations, like not doing physical tasks that can aggravate your injury.
As a victim of illegal termination, you can count on California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group to guide you through the legal system. Please contact us today and talk to a lawyer about your rights and legal options during a free case evaluation.
Filing for Workers’ Compensation
Most employers in California are required to provide workers’ compensation for employees that are hurt on the job. This can happen from an accident, like getting hit with a falling object, or a cumulative use injury such as carpal tunnel.
To qualify for WC benefits, you must report the injury to your employer within 30 days. Unless you selected a healthcare provider ahead of time for work injuries, your employer will tell you which doctor to go to. Please note that in cases of severe injury, you can go to the nearest emergency room for immediate treatment, then notify your employer.
Workers’ comp benefits include medical expenses and replacement wages on a temporary or permanent basis. You may also qualify for supplemental job displacement benefits, and if you die as a result of your injuries, you family members may be entitled to death benefits.
Other Disability Benefits for Work-Related Injuries
When you are unable to work for an extended period of time, it’s essential to explore every avenue for supplemental income, and not just workers’ compensation. For example, you may want to apply for the State of California’s State Disability Insurance program (SDI). These payments can make up for any lost income if your workers’ comp payments are delayed or denied. Or, if the amount you are receiving from WC is less than what you would get in SDI, you may receive the difference between these amounts.
If your injury is serious enough to qualify as a long-term disability, you may qualify to receive Social Security Disability (SSDI). In fact, you may have the option of collecting both SSDI and workers’ comp – as long as the total amount of compensation is no more than 80% of your average monthly wages. Please note, however, that SSDI has certain requirements that do not apply for workers’ compensation. So, it’s fair to say that the vast majority of claimants will not be eligible for both WC and SSDI benefits.
Can I be Fired if I Got Hurt at My Job?
The fact that you were injured at work is not a legal basis for termination of employment. In fact, this practice is prohibited under Section 103(a) of the California Labor Code. Workers also cannot be fired if they file for workers’ compensation and other monetary benefits, or when they seek medical leave under the California Family Rights Act or the Family and Medical Leave Act. Both of these laws provide employees with 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for a medical reason, to care for a seriously ill family member, or bond with a newborn / adopted child.
Not everyone will qualify for extended medical leave, as FMLA protections only apply to employers with 50 or more workers within a 75 mile radius. Additionally, you must have worked at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months. If you are eligible and ask for up to 3 months leave to focus on recovering from a serious injury, your employer cannot retaliate by firing you or subjecting you to other negative repercussions.
Depending on your injury, you may have permanent complications that require accommodations at your workplace. If the company you work for has 15 or more employees, your employer is required to provide you with reasonable work accommodations. You also have the right to ask for disability accommodations under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act if your employer has at least 5 workers. The employer does not need to provide accommodations that cause undue hardship, but they must work with you to come up with reasonable solutions, like reassigning you to another position, letting you work from home, changing your work location, or eliminating certain tasks from your job duties.
If you were fired because you exercised your right to ask for reasonable accommodations, seek help from the wrongful termination lawyers of California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group.
Contact a Los Angeles Employment Rights Lawyer
Going to work should not result in an accident, but these incidents are very common, no matter what you for a living. That’s why employees are protected by laws that guarantee job security when they are hurt during the course of their employment. Unfortunately, employers do not always follow the laws, and this is why people turn to us for help with a wrongful termination lawsuit.
One thing you may be worried about is how much it will cost to hire a lawyer that specializes in labor law violations complaints. Our legal team accepts all cases on contingency, and that means we do not get paid until the recovery of your settlement. So, you pay $0 out of pocket, and if we don’t win your case, you owe us $0 under the terms of the Zero Fee Guarantee.
We are ready to hear from you 24 days a week, 7 days a week, so contact our law firm and schedule a free consultation.
