fired while still under workerscomp? Illinois

[juniorjed]

Iam john 35 years old and hurt my back and neck back in 2006, In 2007 of dec i had back sergery and 2008 of may i had neck sergery, I went threw my pys therp and got my workerscomp checks, But the last 3 months my doc told me to go back to work for light duty on docs resticions. Well i showed and the company told i was ask to leave the work site and come back and i got them to sign it on the docs note and the next month same thing he siad try light duty and the work told again you are not to be on the work site and we are not signing no papers or taking no docters notes. 3rd month same thing was ran of the work site again and a week later i get a letter saying they been trying to get of hold be to do light duty work and i failed to show up which they have never called or mail anything to me. But as iam reading this letter she also goes on and says we also look in on what your doc said of what type of light duty work i can do and she said we dont have any of that type of light duty work for and so we have termintated you from your job. Now i still get my workerscomp checks and still un docs care. But can my job be termintated while under workerscomp? I live in chicago ill, ty john

[Betty3]

Yes, you can be terminated on WC - WC does not offer job protection. It just pays you while you are off on leave & can't work. If the co. does not have any light duty work for you, they don't have to make up a job.

If you were covered by FMLA, it only provides up to 12 weeks of job protected leave in each 12 month FMLA period.

[silkwood]

business as usual

Iam john 35 years old and hurt my back and neck back in 2006, In 2007 of dec i had back sergery and 2008 of may i had neck sergery, I went threw my pys therp and got my workerscomp checks, But the last 3 months my doc told me to go back to work for light duty on docs resticions. Well i showed and the company told i was ask to leave the work site and come back and i got them to sign it on the docs note and the next month same thing he siad try light duty and the work told again you are not to be on the work site and we are not signing no papers or taking no docters notes. 3rd month same thing was ran of the work site again and a week later i get a letter saying they been trying to get of hold be to do light duty work and i failed to show up which they have never called or mail anything to me. But as iam reading this letter she also goes on and says we also look in on what your doc said of what type of light duty work i can do and she said we dont have any of that type of light duty work for and so we have termintated you from your job. Now i still get my workerscomp checks and still un docs care. But can my job be termintated while under workerscomp? I live in chicago ill, ty john

That's what company's try to do, go to the eeoc and let them know how they treated you. And you can't be fired and still receive a paycheck. And where I worked they do find light work. In fact you would still have a cast on your leg or arm and they would get you back to work, unless you were on pain killers, then they would send you home. And I want to tell all of the respondents something, laws are being passed that they can have a camera in the bathroom if they want to. Some places of employment want to make sure you wash your hands. So much for keeping your mouth shut about situations. Good luck with your situation.

[ElleMD]

It is extremely hard to read your post but from what I gather you tried to return to light duty by just arriving at the worksite but were told there was no work or that they could not accommodate you then. Did you fax the note or call first or make sure the note made it to the appropriate place? If an employee just shows up randomly one day and says they need a job with X,y,z requirements, even the most accommodating employer is going to be hard pressed to set that up immediately. The longest your employer would have to hold your job if you qualified was 12 weeks. After that, they can terminate. It sounds as though you were out much longer than that. Employers are not required to offer light duty however.

WC is independent of employment. If you are unable to work due to your accident you should still receive benefits from the WC carrier.

[cbg]

Workers comp issues are not handled by the EEOC.

[silkwood]

Workers comp issues are not handled by the EEOC.

You can tell your story to whoever you want to, let them make the decision.

[cbg]

But why waste your time telling someone who has no regulatory authority over the situation?