A workplace injury can leave you unable to work and uncertain about what comes next. In addition to concerns about medical treatment and lost income, you may wonder whether your employer can terminate you while you are receiving workers’ compensation benefits.
In Minnesota, being on workers’ compensation does not automatically guarantee that your job will remain available. An employer may still terminate an injured employee for a lawful reason unrelated to the workers’ compensation claim.
However, an employer cannot fire or threaten to fire an employee because the employee sought workers’ compensation benefits. Understanding that distinction is important if your employment ends while your claim is still active.
Does Workers’ Compensation Protect Your Job?
Workers’ compensation provides benefits to eligible employees who are injured or become ill because of their work. These benefits may cover medical treatment, a portion of lost wages, vocational rehabilitation, and compensation for certain permanent injuries.
Workers’ compensation does not necessarily provide job-protected leave. In other words, receiving benefits does not always require an employer to hold your position open until you can return.
Whether a termination is lawful generally depends on why the employer made the decision. If the employee would have been terminated regardless of the injury or claim, the termination may be permitted. If the workers’ compensation claim influenced the decision, it may constitute unlawful retaliation.
When Can an Employer Terminate an Injured Employee?
An employer may terminate an employee who is receiving workers’ compensation when there is a legitimate reason unrelated to the workplace injury.
Possible reasons may include:
- A companywide reduction in staff
- The closure of a department or worksite
- The elimination of the employee’s position
- Serious workplace misconduct
- Performance problems that existed before the injury
- A violation of an established company policy
The timing of the termination alone does not determine whether it was legal. An employer may have a valid reason for ending employment while a workers’ compensation claim is pending.
However, the employer’s explanation should be consistent with its records and actions. For example, a position elimination may raise questions if the employer quickly hires someone else to perform substantially the same duties.
When Could Termination Be Retaliation?
Minnesota law prohibits an employer from firing or threatening to fire an employee for seeking workers’ compensation benefits. It also prohibits an employer from intentionally interfering with an employee’s efforts to pursue those benefits.
Retaliation is not always direct. An employer may provide another explanation for the termination, making it necessary to examine the surrounding circumstances.
Potential warning signs may include:
- The employee had a positive work history before reporting the injury but was suddenly accused of poor performance afterward.
- A supervisor expressed frustration about the claim, medical restrictions, or time away from work.
- The employer discouraged the employee from reporting the injury or filing a claim.
- Disciplinary actions began shortly after the employee sought benefits.
- The employer provided changing or inconsistent reasons for the termination.
- The employee’s position was supposedly eliminated, but the work continued under a different employee or job title.
No single fact automatically proves retaliation. The employee’s work history, the timing of events, communications from management, and the treatment of other employees may all be relevant.
What Happens to Your Benefits If You Are Fired?
Termination does not necessarily end a workers’ compensation claim.
An employee may remain eligible for medical treatment, wage-loss benefits, rehabilitation services, or other compensation after employment ends. The availability of those benefits depends on the injury, medical restrictions, ability to work, and circumstances surrounding the termination.
The reason for the termination may become especially important when wage-loss benefits are involved. An insurer may argue that the employee lost income because of misconduct or another issue unrelated to the injury.
For that reason, an employee should not assume that being fired automatically ends the claim or that benefits will continue without dispute.
Could Other Employment Protections Apply?
Other laws may provide additional protection depending on the employee’s circumstances.
A workplace injury may qualify an eligible employee for leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Workers’ compensation leave and FMLA leave can sometimes run at the same time.
The Americans with Disabilities Act may also apply if the injury meets the legal definition of a disability. In that situation, the employer may need to consider reasonable accommodations that would allow the employee to perform the essential duties of the position.
Additional rights may arise from an employment agreement, union contract, company policy, or another leave law. Workers’ compensation should therefore be considered alongside any other protections that may apply.
What Should You Do If You Are Fired?
If you are terminated while receiving workers’ compensation, save any information that may help explain why the decision was made.
Important records may include:
- Your termination notice
- Emails and text messages involving supervisors or human resources
- Performance reviews and disciplinary records
- Medical restrictions and work-status reports
- Workers’ compensation documents
- Company attendance and leave policies
- Notes about relevant conversations
- Any severance agreement or release
Write down the dates of important events, including when you reported the injury, filed the claim, received work restrictions, and learned that your employment was ending.
You should also be cautious about signing a severance agreement without understanding its terms. A release may affect more than your right to receive severance pay and could limit potential employment-related claims.
Speak With a Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Attorney
Being fired while receiving workers’ compensation does not automatically mean your employer violated the law. However, a termination should be reviewed carefully when the timing, explanation, or surrounding circumstances suggest that the claim may have influenced the decision.
A Minnesota workers’ compensation attorney can review the reason for the termination, your employment history, communications from the employer, and the status of your claim. This can help determine whether the termination was based on a lawful reason and how it may affect your continued benefits.