Retaliation Against Employee for Workers Compensation Claim
David worked as a warehousing and purchasing manager for a Massachusetts construction company. One day in mid-2020 he was operating a forklift and caught one of his fingers in a locking channel. After he freed his finger, he was unable to move it freely.
David immediately reported this to a supervisor, who explicitly discouraged him from filing a Workers Compensation claim on the grounds that a claim would increase the company's insurance premium. Instead, the supervisor promised that the company would reimburse David for any out of pocket medical costs that were not covered by his health insurance. After seeing a specialist, David was told that he would have to splint his finger for 6-8 weeks. Though he could still perform his job functions, the splint made typing and other activities difficult for him. At the time of his injury, David and other employees had recently returned to work from a COVID furlough. Three weeks after the injury, he was told there was going to be another COVID furlough, and asked not to report to work. Just a week later, he was told that the furlough was going to be a permanent layoff. However, the company was still posting to fill positions and others were not permanently laid off. In addition to losing his job, David was also not paid all of his accrued and unused vacation time at the time of termination, as required under the Massachusetts Wage Act. Retaliation SolutionWe first attempted to reach a negotiated solution for David, but ultimately had to file a civil complaint alleging retaliation under the Workers Compensation Law, among other claims.
Importantly for David's claim, since he had been actively discouraged from filing a Workers Compensation claim in the first place, we found a Massachusetts case that held that the Workers Compensation statute was "broad enough to prohibit discharge in retaliation for an employee's assertion of an intention to file such a claim or as a preemptive strike to prevent him or her from doing so.” David was therefore entitle to assert the Workers Compensation retaliation claim even though he had not actually opened a Workers Compensation case, because of his employer's explicit discouragement and swift termination of his employment before he could open such a case. After filing the suit, but before discovery, we were able to negotiate a settlement for David that compensated him for his wrongful termination. |
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Postscript
If you are injured at work, remember that you have rights under the Workers Compensation statute, even if your employer does not help you file a claim or actively discourages you from filing a claim. We can help you with a workers compensation claim, we well as with any issues relating to retaliation you may face after making such a claim.
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We have years of experience representing people who have faced retaliation at work for engaging in activities that are protected under the law, and we would be happy to help you. You can use the button below to schedule a call back from a member of our team, or give us a call at 781-784-2322.
