Human Resource Blog

Put on part-time after returning to full-time duty!

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I was in litigation with my employer for a Workers’ Comp issue, which I won. During my absence he hired a part-time worker. I worked one month full-time, then in April was told I was working four hours a day. The part-time lady is also working four hours. Before she was hired I was the only operator he employed. Now she is working the four hours which I could have. I have been there 20 years. I think this is wrong and is being done out of spite. Do I have a case for unfair treatment? Sincerely, Michelle

Workers’ comp is handled at the state level. However, in almost every state, the employer cannot penalize a worker for having a workers’ comp claim, or winning a WC appeal. Your best bet would be to contact the Department of Labor or Workers’ Comp Ombudsman in your state, or the federal EEOC. The employer seems to be trying to cover his tracks by giving you full-time work for the first month. But, it’s not clear that this will work.

 

If the Ombudsman is unable to help, you have another alternative. Often, employees on WC are also on FMLA. If you filled out paperwork for FMLA, by law the employer must return you to a job with the same working conditions and pay — meaning the same number of hours. The US Department of Labor enforces this federal law.

 

If neither of those works, there is one more option. In most states, a full-time employee who was switched to part-time could remain on the job and collect unemployment, because her hours have been drastically reduced. I would be willing to bet that if you filed for unemployment, the employer would find full-time work for you, very quickly. (In many states a worker who quit because her hours have been severely reduced would also qualify for unemployment, providing she had put in enough hours over the past year.)