Many injured workers on workers’ compensation do not plan for getting fired or laid off from their jobs. An employer may have fired them in retaliation for seeking workers’ compensation benefits (which is against the law), or they may have been fired for reasons unrelated to their workers’ compensation claim. Layoffs are often due to unforeseen economic downturns or budget cuts.
People in this situation may be concerned about the future of their workers’ compensation benefits and should seek advice from a workers’ compensation attorney in Oregon.
A workers’ compensation attorney would advise that typically if someone was already receiving benefits when they were fired or laid off, they should continue to receive them if they were injured while working and approved for benefits while still in the job. However, if the person was fired for cause, such as a disciplinary issue, he or she may lose the benefits. A person may also lose benefits if their doctor determined they were fully recovered before being fired. This is because, even if the person was not fired, the benefits would likely have stopped anyway.
A workers’ compensation attorney would also confirm that even if a layoff coincides with the employer going out of business or filing for bankruptcy, this event should not affect someone’s benefits, as they are paid by the former employer’s workers’ compensation insurance. That said, if the insurance company begins having financial troubles, it is possible a person may stop receiving benefits as a result.
