When you are out of work because of a job-related accident, gaining access to what you need to support yourself financially and medical treatment to help you recover physically is crucial. Nevada law makes it illegal for your boss to retaliate against you—such as firing you, docking your pay, or harassing you—for being on leave and asking for workers’ compensation. If your company lets you go or punishes you for exercising your rights to report an injury and receive benefits, you may be able to take legal action against them.
Partnering with a Las Vegas workers’ compensation lawyer at Shook & Stone may provide you with peace of mind and help you hold your employer responsible for their despicable actions. No worker should have to worry about the business they work for wrongly firing them, preventing them from accessing medical care, or interfering with their ability to receive the benefits they are entitled to while on leave. When you are in this situation, reach out to the dedicated workers’ comp attorneys at our firm for help developing a potent strategy to right these wrongs.
Can Your Boss Fire You for Filing a Workplace Injury Report?
As explained in Nevada Revised Statutes § 618.445, it is illegal for your employer to dismiss you or take adverse employment actions—like docking your pay or harassing you—because you are on leave due to a job-related accident or illness. For example, if you slip and fall on a puddle of oil in the backroom of the grocery store you work at and you get injured, your boss cannot turn around and fire you for exercising your right to request benefits. Likewise, if a forklift backs into you and crushes your leg while you are on duty, your manager cannot dismiss you because you asked about getting workers’ comp.
Other examples of illegal retaliation include not allowing you to submit an injury report or harassing or threatening you because you said you wanted to exercise your right to request compensation. Talking with a Las Vegas attorney may be the best course of action when you think your employer is punishing you because of your decision to file for worker’s comp benefits. They can thoroughly review the law and the chain of events leading to the retaliatory act—e.g., you receiving a termination notice—to figure out what happened, why, and what your options are for correcting this error.
What Happens to Your Benefits If You Were Wrongly Let Go While on Leave for a Work-Related Disability?
Generally speaking, you may have a continuing right to get most of your benefits even if your employer fires you without having a lawful reason to do so while you are receiving or seeking workers’ compensation. So, even if your boss lets you go while you are on leave for a job injury, you may still be entitled to continued payments—e.g., related healthcare costs, vocational retraining, and supplemental wages. A well-trained workers’ comp retaliation attorney in Las Vegas is best suited to help you identify your rights and take steps to protect you from wrongly losing your benefits.
However, as Nev. Rev. Stat. § 616.232 describes, your employer’s workers’ comp insurance provider may be able to stop sending money to you if your employer correctly fired you solely because of misconduct. But, this exception is very limited. For example, it usually only applies to payments for temporary total disability, and the insurer only has 70 days from when it finds out about you getting discharged to go this route.
Did Your Las Vegas Employer Fire You or Dock Your Pay Because of a Workers’ Comp Claim? Call Shook & Stone Today
Getting hurt while on the job can be a humbling and difficult situation to go through, especially if the company you work for punishes you for reporting your injury or requesting benefits. When you are in this situation, you may feel disempowered and not know where to turn next. But there is hope; you do not have to go through this alone.
Get in touch with our respected legal team today to arrange a consultation with a Las Vegas workers’ compensation retaliation lawyer. We provide confidential consultations that are completely free.
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