雇主可否处分或解雇有未决工伤赔偿申索的雇员? 这是很多雇主都会问的一个问题. 答案取决于公司位于哪个州, why the employee is being disciplined or terminated and the nature of the workers’ compensation claim. 让我们来看一个例子.

Say an employee is insubordinate to their supervisor, and this issue has occurred more than once. While the employee has been reprimanded, they continue to disobey company policies or procedures. 然而，雇员对工伤有公开的工人赔偿要求. 结果是, the employer may question whether they can continue to discipline or terminate the employee due to poor behavior.

Review this article to learn more about when an employer can discipline or terminate employees with open workers’ compensation claims.

什么是公开的工人赔偿申索?

在一般情况下, an open workers’ compensation claim can mean that an occupational injury or illness is currently being treated, 福利仍在支付, 康复正在进行中或该雇员尚未达到最大的健康改善.

工人赔偿索赔可能会持续数年, depending on how severe the injury or illness was and what the treatment for that ailment entails.  

如果雇员的索赔仍在进行中, 这通常意味着索赔在工人赔偿制度中仍然有效.

雇主何时可以纪律处分或解雇雇员?

While employers cannot retaliate against their employees for filing workers’ compensation claims, this does not mean that they are unable to discipline or terminate an employee who has an open claim. 雇主可以处分或解雇员工的原因有很多. 例如, an employer could potentially be permitted to discipline or terminate an employee with an open workers’ compensation claim in these circumstances:

• 在获得永久限制之后, 员工不能再完成最初分配给他们的工作任务.
• 全公司范围的裁员是必要的.
• 导致他们受伤或生病, 这个员工的工作表现很差, 这个问题也有适当的记录.

然而, it’s important to remember that employers must have detailed documentation and be consistent in their practices with all employees. 除了, employers must ensure that they are not violating any other laws when disciplining or terminating an employee. 毕竟, 只是因为工人赔偿法没有问题, does not mean there won’t be any compliance concerns related to disability regulations or other fair employment standards.

文档是关键

在大多数州, it’s illegal to discipline or terminate an employee because the employee filed a workers’ compensation claim. 这被视为报复, 根据工人赔偿法，雇员不受这种做法的保护. 解雇提出工人赔偿要求的雇员, 雇主可能会面临严重的诉讼问题. 雇主最终可能会为报复索赔支付巨额补偿金和惩罚性损害赔偿.

但是，当员工的行为或态度导致工作绩效问题时，会发生什么呢? 例如, 员工可能无法在规定时间内完成分配的工作, be insubordinate to a supervisor or show up late to work—thus showcasing a poor work performance. 一旦这些问题发生，雇主应该开始记录它们. 这为雇主提供了一个基础, helping them justify disciplinary action or termination—even if the employee has an open workers’ compensation claim.

然而, suppose an employer only starts documenting issues after an employee makes a workers’ compensation claim, 即使这种行为在索赔发生之前就已经发生了. 在这种情况下, it could seem as though the behavior became a problem only because of the workers’ compensation claim.

If an employee’s performance issues began after an injury or illness and during the open workers’ compensation claim, 应在员工的人事档案中详细注明. 在此基础上，雇主应该对发生的事情进行全面调查. 这种方式, the employer will have sufficient documentation in the event that the employee files a lawsuit against them for being disciplined or terminated during the course of an open claim.

雇主在纪律处分和解雇方面也应保持一致. 如果没有一致性, 雇主可能面临歧视或不正当解雇索赔. It’s important that—when an employer is considering whether to discipline or terminate an employee—they follow these measures:

• 记录员工的不当行为.
• 彻查不当行为.
• 取得证人陈述书(如适用).
• 记录员工受到的任何纪律处分, 或者提供为什么不需要纪律的理由.
• Record the reason for the employee’s termination (including any documentation regarding a probationary period).

Documenting the situation with very detailed notes could help an employer defend themselves against any wrongful termination or discrimination claims that may occur.

是报复吗??

Employer actions that could potentially be deemed unlawful retaliation when made against an employee with an open workers’ compensation claim include:

• 更改员工的工作任务，即使员工仍然能够执行这些任务
• 改变员工的工作时间表
• 降职员工
• 减少员工的工作时间

如果雇主被认为对雇员进行了不正当的报复, 他们可能会受到各种惩罚, 比如罚款，严重者可判入狱.

如果雇员被解雇，工人赔偿索赔会发生什么?

如果一名雇员有未决的工人补偿申索被解雇, 索赔将继续开放. The employer will still be responsible for the coverage of the employee’s occupational injury or illness—unless the insurance carrier, 国家机构或法院另有决定.

通常，雇主最关心的是让有公开索赔的员工继续工作. 这样做可以让雇主直接与雇员沟通, closely monitor the employee’s medical treatment progress and have more input as to what the employee is doing in recovery.

被解雇的员工, 另一方面, tend to be very hard to reach—which makes the employer’s task of following up with them that much more complicated. 更重要的是, an employer does not have the same kind of direct access to a terminated employee as they would have to an employee who continues working. This access can be helpful for monitoring the employee’s healing process and holding the employee accountable for following proper medical restrictions. 如果员工被解雇，然后被另一家公司雇用, 确保员工遵守这些限制将变得极其困难.

无论如何, 雇主需要权衡解雇员工还是让员工继续工作的利弊. 例如, not terminating an insubordinate employee simply because they have an open workers’ compensation claim may end up being costlier than any potential retaliation claim that the employer could otherwise face for the termination itself. 每种情况都不同, but employers should always keep in mind that consistency is key when determining what kind of circumstances or employee actions may warrant termination.

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This Work Comp Insights is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. 读者应联系法律顾问或保险专业人士以获得适当的建议. ©2021 Zywave, Inc. 版权所有.