If you have been injured on the job, you have a right to expect your workers’ compensation benefits. These should cover your medical bills, give you some wage reimbursement, and help you if you need to re-train for a different job. But sometimes, businesses retaliate against injured employees, and this can take the form of laying off an injured employee. If this has happened to you, reach out to a wrongful termination attorney in Pasadena, California as soon as you can to see if you’ll be able to bring a lawsuit.
Can You Sue a Pasadena, California Employer for Firing You After Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim?
The short answer here is yes, you can. It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against you for exercising your rights, including your right to apply for and receive workers’ compensation after an injury.
The longer answer is that bringing these lawsuits is never easy, and it’s not something you want to try to do alone. It’s always important to talk with an attorney who has experience in these matters to find out where you stand and how to defend your rights.
Your Rights
If you filed your claim in a timely manner and followed all the rules for bringing it, then you’re entitled to receive your benefits. These benefits should continue until you are rehabilitated or it becomes clear that you won’t be able to return to your job, will have to re-train to a new one, or, in some rare cases, won’t be able to work again at all. California law makes it illegal for your employer to retaliate against you just because you’re receiving benefits. Other forms of retaliation that your employer may try to exercise could include demoting you, reducing your hours, or creating a hostile workplace. Sometimes employers do this to pressure employees to resign so they don’t have to be formally fired.
If your employer terminates your employment within 90 days of you making a claim for workers’ compensation, then the good news is that this act is automatically assumed to be retaliation, and you can bring a lawsuit for wrongful termination. At that point, the entire burden of proof lies with your employer. They must prove that you were fired for reasons apart from retaliation. However, if they lay you off after the 90-day window, then it becomes your responsibility to show that it was retaliation.
Additionally, while it will automatically be considered retaliation if your employer fires you within 90 days, this time limit does not apply to other possible types of retaliation. If your employer is retaliating by changing your hours or position, it still becomes your responsibility in a lawsuit to show that this was done for retaliatory reasons.
What Happens If You Get Fired While on Worker’s Comp?
There’s some good news here: even if your employer lays you off for a perfectly legitimate reason, and you can’t bring a lawsuit, they can’t just “turn off” your workers’ compensation. You are still entitled to the full amount of your claim and to receive compensation until you reach maximum medical improvement. Under the law, maximum medical improvement is the moment when your condition is as improved as it’s going to be. Hopefully, this means that you have completely recovered, but it may also mean that no further recovery can be expected.
If for some reason your benefits stop after you get fired, then it’s possible either that something illegal is being done or that there’s been a simple mistake. Either way, you want an attorney with experience in the workers’ compensation system here in California to come alongside you to investigate and make sure you get everything you’re entitled to.
Bringing a Lawsuit for Wrongful Termination
If you were fired within the 90-day window, retaliation is assumed, and a lawsuit becomes easier. You don’t have to prove anything: you just have to counter any claims from your employer that there was good reason for your termination. Your employer may claim that they were doing natural downsizing, for example, and your lawyer will investigate whether this is true and who else was let go. Your employer may also claim that you violated a contract or were performing poorly, and again, they will have to bring definitive proof of this. Your lawyer will counter these claims by, for example, looking at your employee records and performance reviews and by talking to witnesses.
Bringing a lawsuit outside the 90-day window is more difficult. Now you and your lawyer must prove that the firing was retaliatory. You’ll need both physical evidence and testimony from witnesses to build a strong case. Employers will rarely admit that they are terminating employment in retaliation for anything, so you’ll have to bring enough indirect evidence to show that it is more likely than not that your employer has fired you because you’re collecting workers’ compensation.
The court will consider the timing of the firing, whether the employer has a pattern of firing people in these situations, how you’ve been treated generally while at work, and statements from any witnesses, such as your coworkers. Your lawyer may also subpoena internal records and in some cases may even be able to look at internal emails and text messages to discover more.
What You Can Do
Gather Evidence for Your Wrongful Termination Attorney
Your attorney will investigate and subpoena some things, but you should give them a copy of your employment contract (if you have one); any personal information you have; copies of any workbooks, handbooks, or lists of company policies; and copies of all communication you’ve had between you and your employer since you were injured.
It will also help if you can provide copies of your previous workplace evaluations and reviews and a list of any times that you’ve been reprimanded, disciplined, or noticed any kind of retaliatory behavior. For example, if you had good reviews up until you got injured, and then your employer started nitpicking your performance in a way they never did before, your lawyer may be able to compile enough evidence to show that this was a deliberate attempt to set the stage to make it look as if a retaliatory firing was for cause.
Write Everything Down
Keep a record of anything that happens that seems relevant to the case. If there’s any hint that your employer might be thinking about dismissing you, for example, note down in a journal or diary when you had this impression. Write down the date, time, and content of any conversations you have with your employer or with HR that concern you.
This could be just something as simple as being repeatedly asked “if you’re not feeling better yet,” or when you’ll be able to return to work; especially if you get the feeling these questions aren’t really asking after your health and welfare. Even if you’ve already been fired, go ahead and start writing down now everything that you remember. The fresher the memories are when you commit them to writing, the more weight they will carry in a lawsuit.
Contact Our California Employment Lawyer Today
Contact the experience team of attorneys of Haig B. Kazandjian Lawyers APC today. We proudly serve clients across California. Visit us at our Glendale office at:
Haig B. Kazandjian Lawyers APC
801 N. Brand Blvd., Suite 1015,
Glendale, CA 91203
Phone: (818) 696 2306
