Not legally, no. However, it still happens. If you feel that you've been treated improperly by your employer, contact us today for a free consultation.
If you are fired in retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim in Florida, the employer can be sued for violating Section 440.205 of the Florida Statutes which states: "No employer shall discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate, or coerce any employee by reason of such employee’s valid claim for compensation or attempt to claim compensation under the Workers’ Compensation Law." This lawsuit happens outside of the workers' compensation system and would be handled by a labor and employment attorney. Having said the foregoing, proving that you were terminated in retaliation is typically difficult to prove - meaning, it usually doesn't happen when you report the accident and typically happens sometime down the road. The issue is that being an injured worker is not a protected class, meaning that just because you were injured on the job does not mean that you CANNOT be terminated if the employer has a valid reason to do so - insubordination etc. Hope this helps.
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