No one wants their employees to become injured on the job. And, of course, we want to get the injured employee the best treatment possible, and get the employee back to productive work as soon as medically possible.

 

But what do you do when the doctor says the employee is able to resume restricted work, but the employee won’t return to work? What are the ramifications of an employee who refuses appropriate light duty that you have offered?

 

Is the employee’s job protected because he is injured? Can the employee be let go if he or she is out on a workers’ comp claim and won’t return to work? What about the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?

 

To keep your business running, you may need to hire someone else. Workers’ comp laws do not generally offer job protection, although some states’ statutes do. Oregon is one example.

 

An injured employee may be covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). While an injured employee is on FMLA leave, you must hold the employee’s job for the duration of leave – up to 12 weeks. If the employee can’t return after using up all 12 weeks, you’re generally free to end employment.

 

An employee on FMLA and workers' compensation may refuse to return to work in a light duty capacity, but would do so at the risk of losing the workers' compensation benefits. An employee cannot be required to return to work while on FMLA as long as the need for leave exists.

 

Employees with a current or pending workers’ compensation claim may be disciplined or fired for valid reasons. For instance, if you learn that the employee has been stealing from the company, and your policy is to terminate for theft, the injury claim does not protect the employee from termination.

KellerOnline’s Workers’ Compensation and FMLA topics provide you with a variety of materials to help you better understand these sometimes confusing topics. The Topic Index provides you with regulations, letters of interpretations, best practices articles, FAQs and more. In fact, be sure to check out the FAQ on the issue of FMLA and employees who are on workers’ compensation leave.

 

For more information, visit the J.J. Keller & Associates Web site at www.jjkeller.com.