Human Resource Blog

Minnesota Workers’ Comp Terminated

	Benefits
Total Compensation Summary Performance Improvement Plan Performance Appraisal and Review Employee Payroll Status/Change Form Employee Change Form

	Termination
Employee Warning Notice Employee Final Warning Notice Employee Resignation Form Exit Interview Questionnaire Separation Checklist

Is it legal for an employee in Minnesota to be terminated while out with a work-related injury? In this case, the employee has had 3 different re-injuries this year. Initially, the workers’ comp claims on all 3 were denied. The first two were appealed and ruled workers’ comp injuries. The employee is still out on the third injury, which has not been ruled Workers’ Comp. New, the employer has terminated the employee without even offering her FMLA leave. Is this legal?

This question is complicated by the fact that the third injury was not ruled Workers’ Comp. Because it was not judged to be a Workers’ Compensation claim, the employer fired the worker for being absent for too much time in the course of the year.

Employers, in almost all instances, may not fire an employee because of a work related injury, whether in Minnesota or in any other state nationwide. In this case, however, there is the matter of the third injury.

A company, in addition, may count time taken through Workers’ Comp as part of FMLA leave, provided that the employee receives written notification of the intention when the leave begins.

As a result, the employee in this case has a couple of options. The first is to appeal the ruling in the third injury, through a state-run Workers’ Comp commission or an Ombudsman. The worker could contact the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor if the employer failed to make it clear that the time was being counted as FMLA leave. Finally, the employee may petition for leave under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The definition of disability here is a condition that makes it impossible for the employee to conduct a basic life activity like shopping, cooking, grooming, taking public transportation, or using a telephone book. If the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) rules the worker disabled, the employer may have to grant leave as a “reasonable accommodation” provided the company does not suffer undue hardship as a consequence.

To clarify this situation, assume Marsha has carpal tunnel syndrome caused by her job. She is out for 6 weeks under Workers’ Comp. She returns, and then goes out again for another 6 weeks, also through Workers’ Comp. In both cases, the employer notified her that the time was being counted as FMLA leave. Again she returns, and again goes out, but this time not under Workers’ Comp. She could be fired for taking too much time, because the first two occasions used up her FMLA leave time. JH