What to Do If an Employer Punishes You for Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim

Suffering an injury at work is always distressing, especially when it’s a serious injury that leaves you with a long road to recovery or temporary or permanent disability. Fortunately, Missouri employees know that workers’ compensation insurance is there for them to provide medical care and a portion of their wages until they can return to the job, and they can call a St. Louis workers’ comp lawyer for help. But what happens when returning to the job means facing an unhappy employer who retaliates against you for perceived wrongs? Or worse, one who fires you for filing a workers’ compensation claim?

Why Do Some Employers Retaliate After a Workers’ Compensation Claim?

Missouri requires all employers with five or more employees to carry workers’ compensation insurance. This insurance not only protects employees from facing financial hardship after an injury, but it also protects employers from lawsuits filed against them by workers injured on the job. Unfortunately, some employers resent having to pay the necessary premiums to keep their mandatory workers’ compensation insurance. Even worse, they may hold hard feelings toward an employee who files a workers’ compensation claim for a number of reasons, including the following:

• Their insurance premiums may increase after one or more employee injuries
• The workers’ compensation law requires them to allow the employee time off from work until they reach their maximum medical improvement
• They may have to pay for temporary help during an injured employee’s medical leave
• Acquiring a history of workplace injuries may reflect badly on their business

Regardless of an employer’s reasons for feeling resentful toward an employee who files a workers’ compensation claim, Missouri Law prohibits employers from retaliating against an employee who files for workers’ compensation.

What Constitutes Employer Retaliation After a Workers’ Compensation Claim?

When you suspect a resentful employer is using retaliatory measures against you due to your workplace injury claim in Missouri, it’s important to understand that it is not acceptable and Missouri’s employment law protects you against employer retaliation. Common methods of retaliation after a workers’ compensation claim include the following:

• Firing
• Reducing an employee’s hours
• Assigning an employee to unreasonable hours
• Rescinding or refusing an expected promotion
• Demotion to an undesirable or lower-paying position
• Exclusion from meetings, conferences, or training opportunities available to other employees
• Moving an employee to an undesirable worksite or office location
• Verbal abuse
• Threats and harassment
• Unwarranted negative employee evaluations
• Refusing an employee’s reasonable requests such as time off for medical appointments

If your employer’s attitude and treatment of you in the workplace is significantly more negative after you’ve filed a workers’ compensation claim, you are likely experiencing employer retaliation.

What Can I Do If My Employer Retaliates Against Me After a Workers’ Compensation Claim?

If you filed a workers’ compensation claim after an injury and your employer took adverse actions against you after you filed or after you returned to the workplace, and the adverse action was in retaliation for your workplace compensation claim, then a lawsuit against the employer for retaliation may be in order. First, file a complaint with your company’s HR department, then, if the situation continues or escalates, call a Missouri employment attorney.

How Can a Workers’ Compensation Attorney Help?

Proving employer retaliation after a workers’ compensation claim can be challenging. It requires showing evidence of a difference in your treatment by the employer after the claim compared to before the claim. Contact The Floyd Law Firm today for experienced representation and a strategy to gather evidence and make a compelling case. Employer retaliation is wrong, and your rights deserve protection.