Illegal to be Fired for filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim
It is against the law to fire or retailiate against someone because they filed a workers compensation claim. The law regarding unlawful discharge in workers’ compensation cases is clear. Florida Statute § 440.205 states: “No employer shall discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate, or coerce any employee by reason of such employee’s valid claim for compensation or attempt to claim compensation under the Workers’ Compensation Law.” The Florida legislatures, in their infinite wisdom, foresaw the tendency for employers to terminate employees who file workers’ compensation claims and drafted § 440.205 to prevent such actions.
Claimants are not required to produce evidence demonstrating the employer’s motivation or timing of the decision to fire them relative to the filing of a workers’ compensation claim. Instead, the burden of proof falls on the Employer to show their actions in terminating the injured worker was not an unlawful criminal offense or intentional torts, and that their termination of the injured worker was for just cause.
