What to do if Igot hurt at work and sent to the hospital but the next dayI was fired?
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What to do if Igot hurt at work and sent to the hospital but the next dayI was fired?
I was injured while I was at work. My job requires that you peel rubber apart it takes a toll on your arms, hands, back and chest areas. I was at work peeling the rubber and I noticed my chest started to hurt so I texted my supervisor to let him know what was going on. However, I didn’t get any reply so an hour later the pain got worse so I called him and still no reply. So I left a message on the voice mail and another hour went by and it got worse. I went to the on-site nurse and she checked me out. I had really high blood pressure so she rushed an ambulance out to the job and I went to the hospital. The next morning I got out of the hospital. I turned my medical forms in to my boss and then the next day I got fired. Is there anything I can do?
Asked on December 20, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Illinois
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you were injured on the job and had filed a worker's comp case then yes, you would have some protection under the law. However, based on the facts presented, it would appear that you have no legal recourse. The reason is that in an "at will" employment state, an employer can hire or fire and generally set the conditions of employment much as it deems fit. This includes the right to terminate an employee for any reason or no reason at all, with or without notice.
So unless your discharge in some way violated existing company policy, the terms of a union agreement and/or employment contract, or in some way constituted actionable discrimination, it was perfectly permissible under the law.
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