In Massachusetts, employees covered by Workers’ Compensation insurance through their employer may reach a settlement to cover medical expenses and a portion of their lost income after an accident. However, a Workers’ Compensation settlement cannot guarantee job security.
Depending on your settlement terms, you might have to resign from your job. Workers’ Compensation laws in Massachusetts often require that workers who accept lump sum settlements resign from their positions and not seek re-employment with their former employers. However, this may not always be the case. If you are allowed to ask for your job back, it might not be there for you. Employers are not normally required to hold positions open for injured employees. However, in some cases, employees might have certain protections or preferential treatment in the re-hiring process.
Receive a private, free case assessment from us at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan by calling our Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation attorneys at (617) 925-6407.
Keeping Your Job After Settling a Workers’ Compensation Claim in Massachusetts
Injured employees may need to leave work to recover, and Workers’ Compensation settlements may help them make ends meet. When injured workers are ready to return to work, they might be unable to return to their old jobs.
Return to Work Rules
If you accept a Workers’ Compensation settlement, you cannot return to work with the same employer for a while. This is because Mass Gen. Laws Ch. 152 § 48 says you are presumed to be unable to work with that employer, and only within this case. This presumption lasts for 1 month for each $1,500 for future lost wages in your settlement.
Negotiated Resignation
Carefully review your settlement terms and conditions. Many settlements require that injured employees resign from their jobs and not seek re-employment with the employer. Even if you can someday return to your job, you are legally prohibited from doing so.
Holding Positions Open
Employers are generally not required to hold positions open for injured employees receiving Workers’ Compensation benefits. While some employers try to do right by their employees by holding positions open for a while, they do not have to, and you could be out of a job. One important thing to remember is that your employer cannot fire you because you filed a Workers’ Compensation claim or are actively receiving benefits.
Legal Grounds for Termination
While you could lose your job, your employer must have some legally valid reason for terminating your employment. For example, you might be covered by Workers’ Compensation even if you are responsible for the accident. However, your employer may fire you for your negligence on the job. Another possibility is that you expect to be out recovering and receiving benefits for a long time, and your employer cannot hold the position open for you that long.
What to Do After You Resign as Part of a Workers’ Compensation Settlement in Massachusetts
As mentioned above, Workers’ Compensation settlements may require the injured employee to leave their position. The settlement size determines how long the employee may not work. Again, for every $1,500 of the settlement, it is legally presumed that you are unable to work for one month. The larger the settlement, the longer you must refrain from working. This begs the question: What do you do after you resign? Can you eventually return to your job?
Many workers need to find new jobs entirely, which can be challenging depending on where you live, the current job market, and the field you work in. You will often find similar work with a different employer or transition to a new field of work.
Returning to Your Job in Massachusetts After Accepting a Workers’ Compensation Settlement
Whether you can return to your job may depend on the settlement terms. You might be barred from being rehired. If you can be rehired, you might enjoy certain legal protections and preferential treatment.
No Option for Rehire
Workers’ Compensation settlements often state that the employee agrees to never seek re-employment with the same business or company as part of their “compromise and release” agreement. However, this is not always the case.
Generally, you may not seek re-employment with your employer for as long as you are presumed disabled under your settlement, as discussed above. Many agreements will even say you cannot go back to that employer at all.
If you are allowed to and you wish to return to your old job, your employer does not have to rehire you unless you are subject to preferential rehiring laws for “qualified handicap people.” Your settlement terms may contain language affects this, and a lawyer can determine whether you otherwise qualify.
Preferential Hiring Treatment
While your employer might not have to hold your position for you, unless your contract or union rules require it, you might have an easier time returning to your job if your settlement allows it.
According to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 152 § 75A, employers may be required to give preferential treatment to injured employees when rehiring them. Essentially, if you want to return to your old job, and the job is still open, your employer should give you preference over other candidates.
According to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 152 § 75B(1), employees who are injured on the job and capable of performing the essential functions of their job or another job, or who can perform the job with reasonable accommodations, are considered a “qualified handicapped person” under antidiscrimination laws.
You could be working under these accommodations if you were never totally disabled by your workplace accident. Perhaps you went from working full-time to part-time or working full-time with an accommodation with partial incapacity benefits. Alternatively, you might have had to leave your job due to your injuries and then return with partial incapacity benefits.
Contact Our Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Attorneys for Assistance Now
Receive a confidential, free case evaluation from us at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan by calling our Milford, MA Workers’ Compensation lawyers at (617) 925-6407.