Can you be fired for filing workers compensation in Fort Bend TX?
After an injured worker has filed for workers’ comp, the injured worker’s employment status could be changed drastically. Sure, a boss may not discriminate against an injured employee after they have filed a worker’s compensation report, but the employer can fire the worker on other terms.
Texas is a considered an at will employment state, which simply means that an employer can let go an employee for any reason, provided that the reason isn’t protected by the law. On the contrary, a laborer may also quit for any reason in an at will employment situation. In some cases, an employee is protected from termination by law. For instance, employees are protected under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, from being discriminated against on the terms of their race, religion, skin color, sex, or national origin. Also, an injured worker cannot be terminated on the grounds of filing a worker’s compensation claim, according to the Texas Worker’s Compensation Act Section 451.001.
This doesn’t mean to say that after filing a worker’s comp claim, injured employees are in the clear from being terminated. There are multiple reasons why an injured employee may be fired. For Instance:
- If the injured employee’s job is very important to the business and the work must be done, the employer can terminate the injured worker, so that they may replace them
- If the business is going through difficult times, the manager may decide to terminate the injured worker
- If the injured employee is no longer able to physically perform their job tasks due to the injury, and if there are no substitutions in the company, the employer could terminate the worker
- However, if the boss has terminated the individual just because he filed a worker’s comp claim, there may be the chance of a wrongful termination lawsuit pitted against the boss.
- If the employer or the individual in the company doing the termination had made any stray comments, then they could be used as evidence regarding the “real” reason behind terminating the employee, especially if it truly is because he filed worker’s compensation.
If you are an injured worker and you believe that your employer terminated you because you filed a worker’s compensation claim, you should contact an experienced Texas worker’s compensation lawyer now.
Workers’ Compensation Statute of Limitations in Fort Bend
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