Employer Retaliation in Levittown Workers’ Compensation Cases

Under current Commonwealth law, any worker in Pennsylvania who gets hurt while performing job-related duties has the right to seek restitution for medical expenses, a certain amount of lost wages, and potentially other benefits through a workers’ compensation claim. Unfortunately, some employers treat employees who suffer workplace injuries extremely unfairly, sometimes to an expressly illegal degree.

Employer retaliation in Levittown workers’ compensation cases can take many different forms and result in significant financial and personal losses. However, with help from a workers’ compensation lawyer, you may be able to take effective legal action against your employer and seek a variety of remedies for the unlawful harassment they subjected you to.

What Constitutes Employer Retaliation in Levittown?

Like many other U.S. states and commonwealths, Pennsylvania adheres to an “at-will” system of employment, which means employers can fire employees with or without cause for almost any reason. However, despite what some untrustworthy employers may claim, at-will employment laws do not permit employers to terminate workers who exercise their legal right to file a workers’ compensation claim, nor does it allow them to enforce other unfair sanctions on an employee expressly in retaliation for seeking the benefits they are entitled to by law.

In addition to wrongful termination, forms of employer retaliation that legal professionals often see in Levittown workers’ compensation cases include:

• A long-term or permanent decrease in pay
• Deprivation of benefits
• Sudden relocation to a different department, facility, or geographic area
• Permanent demotion to a lower-paying role or one with fewer responsibilities, or denial of a promotion
• Bad performance reviews without cause
• Unreasonable disciplinary measures at work

Potential Remedies for Retaliation Against a Workers’ Comp Claim

To have valid grounds for a workers’ comp retaliation claim, an impacted worker must be able to prove that their employer engaged in some adverse action as a direct response to that workers’ comp claim. Working with experienced legal counsel can be crucial to achieving a favorable case result, as it is often challenging to prove that an action taken by an employer was knowingly meant as retaliation for a workers’ comp claim.

If employer retaliation following a workers’ compensation claim in Levittown leads to an injured worker losing their job, it will most likely be necessary to contact an employment lawyer to handle a third-party lawsuit to seek restitution. One of the remedies they can seek through a retaliation lawsuit is reinstatement in their old position or in the position they should have been promoted to, as well as a return to their original wage or salary structure. In addition or as an alternative, a successful retaliation claim may allow recovery for missed front and back pay, interest on wrongfully denied compensation and benefits, and various fees and costs for attorney services and court proceedings.

A Levittown Attorney Could Help Combat Employer Retaliation in Workers’ Compensation Cases

The idea of pursuing litigation against a current or former employer for unreasonable and unlawful treatment in response to a workers’ comp claim can be understandably limited. No matter what kind of tactics a company uses to discourage you from taking action, though, you have important legal rights when it comes to seeking workers’ compensation benefits, and you deserve to have qualified and tenacious legal assistance enforcing those rights.

If you are facing employer retaliation after a Levittown workers’ compensation claim, a dedicated workers’ comp attorney is available to help. Call today.