Workers’ compensation is an essential part of recovery after an accident at the workplace, and people are rarely willing to do anything to compromise that. It is often believed that your compensation may be compromised if you change jobs while receiving workers’ comp. Find out exactly how it works and how an attorney can help protect your rights.
Common Misconceptions About Staying at Your Job
You do not necessarily lose your benefits if you change jobs while collecting workers’ comp. Workers’ comp is based on your inability to work in the same capacity that you used to. Your benefits should remain if your new job accounts for that diminished capacity. If your new job requires you to be able-bodied to the extent you were before your injury, and if you carry out the latest job successfully, you may be declared no longer disabled and lose benefits.
Loyalty to the job where you sustained the initial injury that warranted workers’ comp is irrelevant. In fact, you have legal protections against retaliation for leaving your job. These retaliations can come in several different forms as well. Your boss may try to terminate your position, or you may be facing purposely reduced hours. They may even cultivate a toxic work environment that compromises your right to a safe work environment. All of these acts of retaliation are prohibited, and a lawyer can help protect your rights.
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Ask Tom Today!When Leaving Your Job Might Be Necessary
If you can carry out different work or reduced work successfully at your current job, then switching jobs may not be necessary in the first place. There are circumstances, however, in which leaving would be ideal, and they include the following:
- Toxic work environment
- Inability to find work that accommodates your disability
- Health issues that prevent work altogether
- Better job opportunities that consider your disability
Steps to Take Before Resigning
To protect your workers’ comp benefits, there are a few steps to take before you resign.
- Notify your employer in advance: This will give them ample time to accommodate their business needs affected by your absence. Two weeks’ notice is the general guideline here.
- File proper documentation: Not only should you submit your resignation in writing, but your employer should also provide all the relevant documentation from your resignation.
- Consult with a lawyer: Having a lawyer by your side throughout the resignation process not only helps you retain your workers’ comp benefits by arguing that you should still be entitled to them, but they can also protect you against retaliation against your resignation, which you are legally protected from.
Impact of a Job Change on Your Benefits
A job change can impact workers’ comp benefits, though the degree to which they are affected will vary. For example, if your new position pays less than your previous one, you may still be eligible for partial wage loss benefits. Additionally, any medical benefits you’re receiving should carry over. However, If you move states, workers’ comp must authorize new treating doctors where you live, and only the workers’ comp laws from the state where you were injured will apply. A lawyer can help manage all of these factors so that you can keep the benefits coming.
Contact a Workers’ Comp Lawyer
At Thomas J. Ueberschaer, P.A., our team has the experience and know-how to help protect your rights when changing jobs without losing workers’ compensation benefits. Contact our team today to schedule a free consultation and take the first step toward protecting your rights and benefits.