Injured employee claims he was fired because he filed a workers' compensation claim.
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A man from Fayette County, West Virginia has filed suit against a company in Kanawha County, West Virginia claiming that during his employment there, the company fired him in retaliation for his filing a workers' compensation claim. He also claims that his employer violated the West Virginia Human Rights Act.
The suit was filed against Mountaineer Grading Company and Mickey Farmer on January 29 in Kanawha Circuit Court by Jerry Allen Wiseman.
The suit says that in March of 2007, Wiseman was hired by the company as a laborer and equipment operator. A month later, he was re-assigned as a full-time loader or bulldozer operator.
The suit says that Wiseman suffered from low blood sugar, later diagnosed as the disabling condition of diabetes. The result was that he tired easily and had difficulty concentrating. He claims that he explained these things to Farmer, his supervisor.
Wiseman suffered a personal injury to his back in October of 2007 while working. He filled out paperwork for workers' compensation, since the injury occurred on the job.
Wiseman was able to return to work on light duty, but on November 5, 2007, he was fired. He applied for, and received, benefits from unemployment.
Wiseman's five-count suit claims that the company and his supervisors fired him without good cause when he filed for benefits from workers' comp. He says that his firing was retaliation for filing the claim. He is seeking back pay, front pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages from the suit.
There is a strict law in North Carolina which prohibits employers from firing a worker in retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim
The problem with these cases is that they are very difficult to prove.
It is permissible for an employer to fire a worker after an on the job injury. This is a common occurrence especially when the worker, because of the on-the-job injury ,is physically unable to do the job he was doing before the injury.
The law does not fault an employer for firing an employee who can not do the job. The protection for such injured workers is that the employer must pay full workers' compensation benefits until the worker is able to earn an income.
However, the employer can not fire a worker in retaliation for filing the claim. Employers always come up with another reason for firing a worker. They never tell a worker that he is being fired because he filed a workers compensation' claim. They are too smart for that. But the employer will find other ways to get rid of a worker. So how does a worker who has been fired in retaliation for filing a workers compensation claim prove his case?
The worker must prove that there are absolutely no other possible causes for the firing. This means that the worker must have a spotless work record. Any problems with absenteeism, tardiness or any work rule violation will give the employer an opportunity to use such conduct as the reason for firing.
If you feel that you have been fired in retaliation for filing a valid workers compensation claim, contact an experienced North Carolina workers' compensation lawyer to see if you have a claim.