Workers’ compensation protects employees from the financial repercussions of a workplace injury and the employer from a liability lawsuit.
However, employers do not always act in the employees’ best interests when accidents occur. While retaliation is illegal, it still occurs often.
Why do employers retaliate?
Employers may retaliate after a workers’ comp claim for a number of reasons. Their superiors may be angry or pressure them, causing them to redirect their frustrations on the employee. They may have a personal issue with the employee and try to use the opportunity to fill a private vendetta.
Sometimes the timing is just off, meaning the employer acted within reason, but it appears suspicious because the time was close to the employee filing a workers’ comp claim.
What are examples of employee retaliation?
Sometimes retaliation efforts are obvious and other times they are more covert. You may consider questioning your employer’s motive if any of the following occur after you file a workers’ comp claim:
- Demotion or passed on a promotion for which you qualified
- Harassment, threats or intimidation
- Changes in scheduling or job duties
- Receiving an unfair performance review
- Decrease in wages or benefits
Proving retaliation may require documenting the events carefully.
How can you prove employer retaliation?
To show that your employer retaliated against you for a workers’ comp claim, you may need to prove you had the right to that claim and the time off you had, that you filed on time and that you suffered a negative employment action soon after.
Connecting the dots between the workers’ comp claim and adverse experiences is often more feasible than it may seem.