{"id":2199,"date":"2017-10-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-10-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.awjlaw.com\/2017\/10\/04\/can-i-be-fired-for-filing-a-workers-comp-claim\/"},"modified":"2024-12-12T10:43:48","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T10:43:48","slug":"can-i-be-fired-for-filing-a-workers-comp-claim","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.awjlaw.com\/faqs\/can-i-be-fired-for-filing-a-workers-comp-claim\/","title":{"rendered":"Can I Be Fired for Filing a Workers\u2019 Comp Claim?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Were you recently injured in a workplace accident? If so, you may be worried that if you file a workers\u2019 compensation claim, you\u2019ll lose your job. While it\u2019s unfortunate that many Georgia employees think this way, it\u2019s not without justification. It\u2019s a reasonable concern because while employers are NOT supposed to let employees go for filing workers\u2019 compensation claims, <em>it does happen.<\/em> The real question, is this practice legal?<\/p>\n<p>According to the Georgia Secretary of State, \u201cGeorgia recognizes the doctrine of employment at will. Employment at will means that in the absence of a written contract of employment for a defined duration, an employer may terminate an employee for good cause, bad cause, or no cause at all, so long as it is not an illegal cause.\u201d So, what counts as an illegal cause for termination? Illegal causes of termination include firing people because of any of the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Pregnancy;<\/li>\n<li>Race, color, sex, religion and national origin as protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;<\/li>\n<li>Sexual orientation;<\/li>\n<li>Disability; and<\/li>\n<li><strong>Retaliation. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It is illegal for employers to terminate injured employees out of <em>retaliation<\/em> for filing a workers\u2019 compensation claim. This does, however, happen because many employees are familiar with Georgia\u2019s at will employment law, but they are not familiar with the fact that it\u2019s illegal for employers to fire employees for filing workers\u2019 compensation claims.<\/p>\n<h2 align=\"center\">Georgia\u2019s Workers\u2019 Compensation Law<\/h2>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/sbwc.georgia.gov\/publications-fee-schedules-and-forms\/publications\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Georgia State Board of Workers\u2019 Compensation<\/a>, \u201cThe law requires any business with three or more workers, including regular part-time workers, to have workers\u2019 compensation insurance.\u201d If you are approved for benefits, \u201cYou are entitled to weekly income benefits if you are unable to work for more than 7 days. Your first check should be mailed to you within 21 days after the first day you missed work,\u201d says the Board.<\/p>\n<p>If you were injured in a workplace accident and are unable to work, you should contact our firm for assistance filing a claim. If you\u2019re concerned that you\u2019ll lose your job, remember, it\u2019s against the law for your employer to fire you out of <em>retaliation.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em><strong>To learn more about your rights to compensation and to discuss filing a third party claim in addition to a workers\u2019 compensation claim, <a href=\"\/contact-us\/\">contact Jones &amp; Swanson today.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Smyrna personal injury lawyers at Jones &amp; Swanson explain whether employees can be fired for filing workers&#8217; comp claims. Call now to file a claim!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2200,"parent":801,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"hc_faqs":[464],"class_list":{"0":"post-2199","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hc_faqs-workers-comp","7":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Can I Be Fired for Filing a Workers\u2019 Comp Claim? | Jones &amp; Swanson<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Can I Be Fired for Filing a Workers\u2019 Comp Claim?: Jones &amp; Swanson, with 45+ years of experience and millions recovered. 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