Workers' Compensation Retaliation
In the United States, employment relationships are said to be “at-will,” meaning that, with key exceptions, an employer can discipline or fire a worker for any reason or no reason at all, and a worker can quit a job for any reason or no reason at all. One of the main exceptions to this general rule is in unionized workplaces, where a collective bargaining agreement restricts the employer’s freedom to discipline or fire a worker “at will.” The other main exception is where there is a law making it illegal for an employer to discipline or fire a worker for a specific prohibited reason.
Most Americans are aware of federal laws that prohibit employers from disciplining or firing an employee for discriminatory reasons such as race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or disability. Employers in New York State are governed by these laws like employers in the rest of the country. But in addition, New York employers are governed by Section 120 of the Workers’ Compensation Law, which makes it illegal for them to “discharge or in any other manner discriminate” against a worker for filing or attempting to file a workers’ compensation claim.
Few employers systematically discipline or fire every single worker who gets injured on the job. Even fewer employers have explicit policies stating that they may punish their workers simply for trying to claim compensation after suffering a workplace injury. Yet every time an injured worker successfully becomes entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, that worker’s employer risks paying higher premiums to its insurance carrier (or paying out of its own pocket if self-insured). Many employers have therefore gambled that by firing an injured worker who has filed or is about to file a claim, they can avoid having to pay the costs that that claim would impose on them. The rights and needs of the injured worker mean nothing to these employers.
Section 120 allows injured workers who are disciplined or fired in retaliation for claiming workers’ compensation benefits to sue their employers directly in a separate legal action from the workers’ compensation claim itself. If you are successful, Section 120 entitles you to recover from your employer:
It should be noted that you must file your Section 120 claim within two years after the date of your termination or other discriminatory action.
If you believe your employer disciplined or fired you for no reason other than the fact that you were injured on the job and filed or attempted to file a workers’ compensation claim for that injury, contact Geoffrey Schotter, Esq. to review your case (347) 413-9014.
Most Americans are aware of federal laws that prohibit employers from disciplining or firing an employee for discriminatory reasons such as race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or disability. Employers in New York State are governed by these laws like employers in the rest of the country. But in addition, New York employers are governed by Section 120 of the Workers’ Compensation Law, which makes it illegal for them to “discharge or in any other manner discriminate” against a worker for filing or attempting to file a workers’ compensation claim.
Few employers systematically discipline or fire every single worker who gets injured on the job. Even fewer employers have explicit policies stating that they may punish their workers simply for trying to claim compensation after suffering a workplace injury. Yet every time an injured worker successfully becomes entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, that worker’s employer risks paying higher premiums to its insurance carrier (or paying out of its own pocket if self-insured). Many employers have therefore gambled that by firing an injured worker who has filed or is about to file a claim, they can avoid having to pay the costs that that claim would impose on them. The rights and needs of the injured worker mean nothing to these employers.
Section 120 allows injured workers who are disciplined or fired in retaliation for claiming workers’ compensation benefits to sue their employers directly in a separate legal action from the workers’ compensation claim itself. If you are successful, Section 120 entitles you to recover from your employer:
- Monetary damages for lost wages and other economic losses you sustained as a result of your employer’s discriminatory treatment of you.
- Restoration to your former position with your employer if you so choose and if it can reasonably accommodate your disability.
- Any pay raise, promotion, or enhanced seniority to which you would have been entitled if your employer had not discriminated against you for claiming workers’ compensation benefits.
It should be noted that you must file your Section 120 claim within two years after the date of your termination or other discriminatory action.
If you believe your employer disciplined or fired you for no reason other than the fact that you were injured on the job and filed or attempted to file a workers’ compensation claim for that injury, contact Geoffrey Schotter, Esq. to review your case (347) 413-9014.
