You have a workplace injury. You receive medical care and replacement income. Maybe you return to work quickly, or your injuries prevent you from working.
You are then fired. It seems out of the blue.
You’re left to wonder: Can I be fired while on workers’ comp?
Our experienced Greenville workers’ compensation lawyers at Bobby Jones Law explains what happens if you are fired while on workers’ comp.
Can You Be Fired While on Workers’ Comp in South Carolina?
Yes, you can be fired while on workers’ comp in South Carolina. Whether the firing is legal depends on the reason you’re fired. They cannot fire you because you file a workers’ compensation claim.
At-Will Employment and What It Means for Injured Workers
Being on workers’ compensation doesn’t mean job protection. You can still be fired.
South Carolina is an at-will employment state. If you’re not protected by an employment contract, union agreement, or something else that guarantees your employment, you can be fired for no reason at all. That’s true for all employment, and it’s still true when someone is on workers’ compensation.
Retaliation Is Not Allowed
Even though employment termination is generally allowed while someone is on workers’ compensation, firing you in retaliation for exercising your rights is not okay. South Carolina law states that an employer may not discharge or demote an employee because they filed a workers’ compensation claim.
Your Medical Benefits Continue
If you are fired, your workers’ compensation medical benefits should continue uninterrupted. They’re tied to your injury, not to your employment status.
Legitimate Reasons an Employer Can Terminate You During a Claim
Reasons an employer can terminate you while you’re on workers’ comp include:
- Frequent absences
- Tardiness
- Destruction of company property
- Not meeting performance standards
- Intoxication in the workplace
- Disorderly conduct
- Embezzlement, larceny
- Violating written company policies
- Downsizing
- Company-wide layoffs
- No reasonable accommodation of work restrictions
Of course, the employer is unlikely to admit that they’re firing you in retaliation for making a workers’ compensation claim. It’s more subtle than that.
What Retaliation Looks Like
Retaliation might be sudden scrutiny of your job performance. This may come out of nowhere, even though your job performance was highly praised before. A job review may be more critical than usual.
They might schedule you for less desirable shifts or deny your overtime. You may suddenly be given new duties or have duties taken away. Managers may leave you out of meetings or group projects.
As you consider whether it’s retaliation, look for things that have changed. Keep a list of events as they occur.
Do Your Workers’ Comp Benefits Stop If You’re Fired?
No. Workers’ comp benefits don’t stop if you’re fired. Your employer can’t fire you to avoid paying wage benefits and stop medical care. Your medical benefits continue until you reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI), which isn’t tied to whether or not you are employed.
Even if you get fired, if your doctor says that you’re too injured to work, your wage benefits continue. When your doctor clears you to return to work, your wage benefits end. Wage benefits can also end if you refuse medical treatment.
Temporary Wage Benefits Can End for an Unrelated Reason
South Carolina regulations define disability as a worker’s incapacity to earn the wages they were earning at the time of injury because of the injury. If a person is terminated for an unrelated reason, such as failing to follow company policy, the wage loss is no longer attributable to the injury.
How Being Fired Affects Your Settlement Value
Getting fired while on workers’ comp can change your settlement value. It shouldn’t affect the medical portion of the case, but it may reduce the wage-replacement award.
A lawyer can help you investigate what happened, whether the firing was lawful, and how it might impact your workers’ compensation claim.
FMLA and ADA Protections That May Also Apply
In addition to the laws that protect you from retaliatory firing, there are other laws that can help after a workplace injury.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) can protect your job and keep your health insurance in place. If you’re covered by FMLA, you can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for a serious health condition that makes you unable to work. If you’re covered, your employer must keep your health insurance in place. They must give you your job back when you return from leave.
Not everyone is covered by FMLA. There are minimum work hours and work history minimums. Only larger employers are required to provide FMLA leave.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires covered employers to accommodate workers with physical impairments. They must provide reasonable accommodation, if needed, to perform the essential functions of the job.
Not all workplace injuries qualify for ADA accommodation. But a workers’ comp injury may fall under the ADA if the employer refuses to offer appropriate light duty.
Filing a Retaliatory Discharge Claim in South Carolina
If you’re improperly fired while on workers’ comp, it’s a separate legal claim and doesn’t become part of workers’ comp. Instead, you may file a separate civil action for lost wages. You may also seek reinstatement to your employment.
As the employee, you bear the burden of proving that you were terminated unlawfully. The employer can argue that your termination was fair.
There’s a short statute of limitations for retaliatory discharge—one year— so don’t wait to contact an attorney.
Evidence To Preserve If You’re Terminated
If you’re terminated while on workers’ compensation, make notes of everything that you remember about the circumstances. Write out a timeline of events. Keep emails, text messages, and letters relating to your job performance and workers’ compensation claim. Gather your employment records, including your termination letter. Write down the names and contact information of coworkers who may have information.
What To Do Next
Keep going to your medical appointments. Save communications from the employer, along with text messages and emails from coworkers. Contact a lawyer as soon as possible.
Talk to a Lawyer
If you get fired while on workers’ comp, contact Bobby Jones Law. We are a workers’ compensation lawyer, representing injured workers. Call or message us now.
