Wrongful Discharge

• Under each state’s employment laws, one of the more serious ones involves wrongful termination. The qualifications for wrongful termination vary with the individual circumstances of the case and state law, but if your employer fired you in retaliation for filing a justifiable work-related injury, in most states, this is against the law. This violation may result in fines and penalties levied by the state, a civil case, job reinstatement or the requirement to pay you for any back pay you would have earned, along with your rightful workers’ compensation benefits.
  
  

Contact the State

• The first thing you must do is contact the state in which you live. Each state maintains an employment board or workers’ compensation commission that lists the state laws regarding workers’ compensation. Each state hosts its own workers' compensation website, which includes providing phone numbers where you can speak directly to a state representative in the department. Besides contact information, you will find answers to frequently asked questions, along with other pertinent information that may pertain to your case.
  
  

Contact an Attorney

• Sometimes the only option is to contact an attorney who specifically handles workers’ compensation in the state in which you live. Because these laws vary from state to state, hiring just any attorney isn’t a good idea. In the states that have separate adjudication for workers’ compensation cases, they also often require registration of attorneys who handle these cases. Check with your state to find out if these are its requirements and verify that the attorney you choose to work with meets the state’s requirements for representing an injured worker in a workers' compensation case.
  
  

Circumstances

• State law determines whether an employer has to hold your job open for you while you receive workers’ compensation benefits. In most cases, however, if you are receiving workers’ compensation benefits, your employer has to have someone else do your work. If the state does not require that your position be held, your employer can fire you while you're receiving workers' compensation benefits.