Does My Employer Have to Offer Me a Job After I Am Injured?
Can an employer fire an injured worker?
As a Portland workers' compensation attorney, I get this question a lot in a variety of different forms.
First, there is Oregon discrimination law which protects workers' who file workers' compensation claims from being retaliated against. So, no, you cannot be fired for filing a workers' compensation claim in Oregon.
Second, there is the issue of whether an employer has to keep your job for you after a work injury. There a multiple scenarios that come up in work injury claims. For most Oregon companies, the employer must hold your job for you for up to three years after a work injury. For very small employers, they must hold the job for a year. This means you are entitled to return to your job after you recover from a workers' compensation injury.
However, there is a large exception to this rule. If you are not released by your doctor to the job at injury (i.e., you cannot physically return to the job you held when y…
First, there is Oregon discrimination law which protects workers' who file workers' compensation claims from being retaliated against. So, no, you cannot be fired for filing a workers' compensation claim in Oregon.
Second, there is the issue of whether an employer has to keep your job for you after a work injury. There a multiple scenarios that come up in work injury claims. For most Oregon companies, the employer must hold your job for you for up to three years after a work injury. For very small employers, they must hold the job for a year. This means you are entitled to return to your job after you recover from a workers' compensation injury.
However, there is a large exception to this rule. If you are not released by your doctor to the job at injury (i.e., you cannot physically return to the job you held when y…