Can You Be Laid Off After You Receive Workers Compensation in Pennsylvania?

September 27, 2024 | Workers’ Compensation

Can You Be Laid Off After You Receive Workers Compensation in Pennsylvania

Imagine this scenario: You suffer a work-related injury, such as a sprained back or a broken ankle, that requires you to spend time in the hospital and recuperate at home. Fortunately, workers’ compensation awards medical expenses, along with wage replacement benefits that equal most of your current average wages. Then you get the phone call–your employer is laying you off. Do you have any options?

Duration of Workers’ Compensation Benefits

Normally, you should receive workers’ compensation benefits from the date of your injury until the date that you reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI). Of course, you won’t receive a workers’ compensation award on the date of your injury. Whenever you do receive it, however, workers’ compensation will grant you retroactive benefits all the way back to the date of your injury. 

Your wage replacement benefits continue even after you return to work if your injuries still affect your income. If you end up permanently disabled, workers’ compensation can extend the duration of your benefits or offer you a lump sum payment.

Pennsylvania’s At-Will Employment System

Pennsylvania, like other states, is an at-will employment state. That means that absent a contractual agreement to the contrary, either you or your employer can terminate your employment relationship for any reason or for no reason at all. In other words, you can quit any time you want, and your employer can fire you anytime they want.

Certain legal restrictions do apply; however, your employer cannot fire you because of your religious beliefs or ethnic background.  Your employer ‘lays you offer’ if they terminate the employment relationship, temporarily or permanently, for reasons that are not your fault. Your employer can lay you off for legitimate economic reasons, for example.

None of the foregoing terms of an at-will employment relationship changes because you receive workers’ compensation benefits. In other words, you cannot prevent your employer from firing or laying you off just because you receive workers’ compensation benefits. 

There is one way that your boss’s right to fire you and your right to workers’ compensation benefits could conflict. That would be if your employer fired you in retaliation against you for filing a workers’ compensation claim. This kind of conduct is strictly illegal, and you can sue your employer for retaliatory termination if this happens. A retaliatory termination claim can be worth a lot of money under the right circumstances.  

Do Lose Your Workers’ Compensation Benefits If You Lose Your Job?

You do not automatically lose workers’ compensation benefits if you lose your job through no fault of your own. You will keep receiving benefits as long as you would have received them if you had not been laid off. You might lose benefits if your employer terminates you because your injuries prevent you from performing your duties. This is a complex and nuanced legal issue.  

The Effect of Permanent Work Restrictions

If you have permanent work restrictions due to your work injury, your employer must be willing to accommodate reasonable restrictions. They must be willing to offer ‘reasonable’ accommodation. Exactly what constitutes “reasonable,” however, varies on a case-by-case basis. If they cannot accommodate your disability, they can terminate you for inability to perform your job duties. 

The workers’ compensation carrier can hire a vocational expert to help you find suitable work that is “generally available.” If you can find suitable work, workers’ compensation will then reduce or terminate your workers’ compensation wage loss benefits.

Do You Need a Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyer?

If you have been laid off while receiving workers’ compensation benefits in Pennsylvania, don’t despair. You may or may not have a valid claim against your employer. You might need to discuss matters with a Pennsylvania workers’ compensation lawyer to determine whether you have a valid claim. Contact Marzzacco Niven & Associates today to schedule a free consultation. 

If you’ve been injured in a workers’ compensation, please contact Marzzacco Niven & Associates at the nearest location to schedule a free consultation today:

Harrisburg Law Office
945 East Park Drive, Suite 103 Harrisburg, PA 17111
(717) 231-1640

York Law Office
2550 Kingston Road, Suite 210A York, PA 17401
(717) 995-8998

Wyomissing Law Office
833 N. Park Road, Suite 103, Room A Wyomissing, PA 19610
(717) 388-2325

Chambersburg Law Office
79 St. Paul Drive, Suite 1 Chambersburg, PA 17201
(717) 388-2378

Carlisle Law Office
354 Alexander Springs Road Carlisle, PA 17015
(717) 995-8732

Carbondale Law Office
30 Lincoln Avenue, Suite 101 Carbondale, PA 18407
(717) 995-8810

Lancaster Law Office
2173 Embassy Drive, Ste 123, Lancaster Pa 17603
(717) 616-2954

Lebanon Law Office
937 Willow Street, Suite D Lebanon, PA 17042-1140
(717) 995-8963