Fired for filing an Illinois workers' compensation claim
The Illinois workers’ compensation system protects employees from being fired because they are filing claims for benefits.The law is clear, that in order to protect workers’ rights to receive workers’ compensation benefits, employers are not allowed to fire an employee for exercising his or her rights. This is considered a "retaliatory discharge."
But proving that you were fired because of the workers’ compensation claim is not as easy as it may seem. It is not enough to merely argue that you filed a claim, and then you were fired. If it was that simple, then filing a claim for benefits would always give you complete job security, because your employer could never terminate you.
Instead, the responsibility rests with the worker to show that the firing was connected to the workers’ compensation claim. If your employer has a valid reason to fire you, and it’s not just to cover up for firing you because of your claim for benefits, then you have not met your burden to prove a retaliatory discharge.
Often these situations arise where an injured worker doesn’t return to work after a period of recovery. If your treating physician continues your restriction from working, but an Independent Medical Exam (IME) physician hired by the insurance company gives the opinion that you should be able to return to work, then what?
If there is a disagreement among physicians as to whether you are able to return to work, you are allowed to rely on your treating physician’s opinion, and not go back to your job at that time. If your employer fires you solely based on relying on the IME opinion, when it’s known that you have a different opinion from your doctor, this could be considered a retaliatory discharge.
The Illinois workers’ compensation system has a process for resolving those issues. If you can’t agree, you take it to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission to make a ruling. But your employer cannot just decide that the IME is correct, and rely solely on that opinion to fire you for not returning to work, when you have an opposing medical opinion.
Sometimes, though, these situations can get even trickier to prove. In some recent Illinois cases where a worker was fired when there were conflicting IME and treating physician opinions, the argument for retaliatory discharge was rejected anyway. In each case, the court found a valid reason for the firing, separate and apart from the IME opinion.
Even in a case like this, where you could argue that your employer relied on a different IME opinion and fired you for not returning to work, you still have to show that there wasn’t some other valid reason you were fired. For example, in one case, the employer had attempted to contact the worker to return to work, even after the workers’ compensation claim was filed. This showed that there wasn’t necessarily a motive to retaliate for the claim.
The right to file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits is secure from any backlash for exercising that right. But employers remain able to decide to fire an employee for a legitimate reason, even after a claim for benefits is filed.
We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys. Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.
