Fired

questions & answers

Question: can an employer fire you verbaly while on workmans comp and withhold the incident reports?

Answer: Workers’ compensation guarantees medical and compensation benefits to workers if injured on the job, regardless of who causes the job-related accident. If the injury is job related, the injured worker is entitled to receiving temporary compensation and/or medical benefits.
An employer cannot fire you just because you are on worker’s compensation. However, your employer can fire you while you have a worker’s compensation claim open; but they must be able to prove that there were valid reasons for firing you that did not have to do with filing the claim. If you are a contracted employee, your contract may list specific reasons why your employer is able to terminate you, so it may be helpful to review that.  If you feel that you have been discriminated against or are suspicious that your employer fired you due to your workers’ compensation claim, you may want to contact an employment law attorney. Visit www.azlawhelp.org or www.azbar.org for more information.
 Claims reports should always be filed by the employer.  If your employer is withholding the incident reports, you can contact the Claims Division of the office of workers’ compensation program in Arizona which is called the Industrial Commission of Arizona Claims Division and is located at 800 West Washington Street Phoenix, AZ 85007. Their number is (602) 542-4661. More information can be found on their website.